On the Crumbling Road
by The Blue Sorceress
Summary: Afraid of the consequences of her strange heritage, Brynn Trueblade, daughter of Murder, strikes out on her own. Welcome to the story of Baldur's Gate II, but be prepared to follow an unfamilar path. Complete
1. Walking the Path Alone

On the Crumbling Road 

A Baldur's Gate II Fan Fic Novel 

Written by: The Blue Sorceress 

*** 

Chapter 1: Walking the Path Alone 

*** 

With the sort of calmness that comes from determination Brynn Trueblade dressed and tucked her things into her satchel. She pulled her tunic on, then her trousers, tucking the cuffs into her boots and lacing them tight. Around her waist she cinched her scabbard belt, and then knelt down and from beneath her bed pulled her two most prized possessions: a pair of finely crafted katanas. One had been a gift from the Kensai, Touga Kurai, her sword master, and the other she had found on one of her early exploration into the many dusty storage rooms of Candlekeep. She sheathed both of the swords and hefted her satchel. It was funny how at twenty four years of age all her worldly belongings could fit into one small bag. 

She tiptoed to her bedroom door and opened it slowly. After checking the hall to make sure no one was coming she stepped out, her boots making quite scuffing sounds on the uncovered stone. Down the hallway she went, careful as a forest deer and just as quiet. The wooden stairs creaked as she went down them, and she paused, the sound of her blood pounding in her ears making it hard for her to hear if anyone was coming. She shook of her fears and continued down the stairs. She crossed the small room at the bottom of the stairs and pushed open another door. Quickening her step, she moved to the last door, unbarred it, and pushed it open too. Fresh summer air filled her nose and she allowed herself a moment to breath it deep before she darted through shadows, crossed the muddy courtyard and passed across the drawbridge to freedom. 

Only a day ago she had crept into this keep, and now she had crept back out, though not by the same path. Only a day ago she had fought trolls, umber hulks and yuan ti at the request of Nalia De'Arnise, and only a day ago Nalia had given her the keep to hold in order to prevent it from falling into the hands of Nalia's suitor. Brynn had accepted the responsibility of governing the keep without qualms, in fact she had been delighted with the whole idea. But that had been a day ago, and things had changed. 

Shivering Brynn ran across the green grass that surrounded the keep and into the trees beyond. She had had another dream. Irenicus came to her in her dream and told her to accept her power, to use it... 

_If only to protect the weak who would fall because of you..._

No, she would never do what that _monster_ suggested, never, but she would rather be sent to the Abyss than let those she cared about be hurt or killed. Her heart ached, throbbing dully in her chest, and tears came to her eyes as she remember those who had already fallen. Her legs gave out and Brynn sat down hard, her satchel sliding off her back and onto the soft moss of the forest floor. She leaned against a tree and stared up at the sky through the reaching arms of the trees. 

"Oh Khalid, Dynheir, I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you." 

It didn't bring them back though, saying she was sorry. It didn't ease the ache she felt in her own heart, nor the pain that she saw in the eyes of Jaheira and Minsc, nothing could now or ever. Still, she could prevent what had happened to Khalid and Dynheir from happening to any of her other friends. She could leave them, she could go rescue Imoen on her own and cut out the heart of the mage Irenicus with her own blade. That would protect them, all her old friends and all of her new ones too. 

Behind her, Brynn heard someone clear their throat. She stood up, her hands going to her katanas. "Who's there?" she demanded. 

A man stepped out from behind the trees. Because of her elven blood the man appeared to Brynn to be glowing softly in the heavy darkness. "Just me," said the man. 

Brynn frowned, knowing that her expression could not be seen. It was Yoshimo, the bounty hunter she and the others had discovered during their mad flight from Irenicus' lair. What was he doing out here? Had he been following her? "What do you want?" she asked. 

"I was merely curious as to why you would try to sneak out of your own home," Yoshimo replied. 

"That's none of your business," Brynn said firmly. "How did you find me?" 

Yoshimo chuckled. "I could hear you. You might think you were being sneaky, but you have a thing or two to learn I think." 

"Why did you follow me?" 

In the darkness Brynn could see Yoshimo shrug. "I was curious," he said. "I noticed that you were leaving while I was wandering the halls..." 

"Looking for something to steal," Brynn accused. 

"No, merely getting accustomed to the keep," Yoshimo corrected. "Besides which, we cleaned all the valuable items out on our way in if I remember correctly." 

"Fine, I don't care," Brynn told him, "just go back to the keep and don't tell anyone else I'm gone until morning. Better yet let them find out themselves." 

"Why?" Yoshimo inquired.   
"Because I asked you to!" Brynn snapped. "Just pretend you never heard me leave." 

The moon came out from behind the clouds and in its light Brynn saw a frown make its way across Yoshimo's usual cheerful face. "You are acting very strangely," he said softly. "Obviously you are trying to leave us all behind, but why?" 

"Because," Brynn said, her chest growing tight, "because I don't want all of you to get killed." 

"Pardon?" 

Brynn scrubbed her fingers through her hair. "I attract pain and death," she said, her voice cracking, "Khalid, Dynheir, Imoen... everything that happened to them all is because they followed me. I won't let it happen anymore. I'm going to rescue Imoen on my own. So please, go back to the keep and... and just forget that you ever met me. Tell Jaheira and the others not to look for me. Tell them it's for their own good." 

"I cannot do that," Yoshimo said gravely. 

"Then I'll knock you unconscious and leave you here," Brynn threatened. "Please, I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me. I'm a jinx, Yoshimo, it's better for you and everyone else to just stay away." 

Yoshimo shook his head. "I would never have escaped from Irenicus without your help and so I am indebted to you. I must pay my debt to you, or loose my honor. Your quest to save your friend is my quest now, and you cannot drop me so easily and say forget I ever met you." 

"Your debt to me is paid," Brynn said. "Now please, let me go on alone. I don't want you getting dying for no reason." 

"My debt is _not_ paid," Yoshimo replied sternly, raising his voice for the first time. 

"You don't understand..." 

"No, _you_ don't understand. I pledge my services to you, and I will not break that pledge." 

"Then go serve me back at the keep," Brynn pleaded. "I have to go on alone." 

Yoshimo took a step forward. "Do you honestly believe that you can rescue your friend alone? Do you honestly believe you can defeat the mage Irenicus without any help?" 

"I can't let anyone help me!" Brynn exclaimed. "If you died it would be my responsibility, my fault. I won't, I _can't_, let anyone else die because of me." 

"My life and death are my own responsibility," Yoshimo argued heatedly. "Don't be so vain to think that you alone can inadvertently cause your companions to die." In a gentler voice he said, "Let me help you. If I die, then my debt is paid and I will die with honor. That would be better than living without honor until I was old and toothless. Let me help you, if not for your own sake, then for mine." 

Brynn swallowed hard. Yoshimo didn't understand what he was saying. He didn't know what she was, he didn't know anything. But he was right, she couldn't rescue Imoen on her own. 

"Listen to what I have to say, and then if you still want to come with me, then I'll let you," she said. 

"I am listening," Yoshimo replied. He folded his hands behind his back and focused his dark eyes on her intently. 

Brynn hesitated. "I'm not a normal woman, that's why Irenicus wants me. I have a power buried in me, he said, and I have that power because of who my father was." She paused, her heart thumping wildly. "I... I'm the daughter of Bhaal. One of the mortal children spoken of in Alaundo's prophecy. That's why you can't come with me. My heritage draws death. I'm the daughter of Murder." 

Yoshimo was silent for a long time and Brynn was sure he would turn away. Finally he spoke. "You are the daughter of Murder," he repeated softly. "I understand what you are saying now, but it makes no difference. If I had promised my services to Bhaal himself I still could not take back that promise, no matter the consequences. I will still follow you, Brynn Trueblade, and I will not leave your side until my debt is paid in full." 

Brynn inhaled sharply. How could he say that knowing what she was? How could he follow her now that he knew why death dogged her every footstep? Did the value he placed on his honor outweigh even the terrible truth she had given him? "All right," she said. "I promised to let you come with me if you wanted to, but please, we must leave now. I can't let Aerie, or Nalia get caught up in this any more than they already are. And... I've hurt Minsc and Jaheira more than enough as it is. From now on it has to be you and me and no one else." 

"Fine," Yoshimo agreed. "I will abide by your laws if you wish it so desperately. I am ready to leave whenever you are, just point the way." 

Brynn nodded and lifted her satchel off the ground. "We're going back to Athkatla. I'm sure I'll find the money to pay for the Shadow Thieves' help, or the way to obtain it, somewhere within that city." 

Yoshimo moved to her side. "Speaking of the Shadow Thieves," he said, "I need to speak with one Renal Bloodscalp sometime soon. The Shadow Thieves don't like... independents operating within their territory and I ought to clear a few things up with them." 

Brynn turned her head and looked at him. "Anything that could be dangerous?" She asked. 

"No, I don't think they would kill me," Yoshimo clarified. "But perhaps things might go more smoothly for you if I were to stay on their good side." 

"I'm glad you told me. Thank you, Yoshimo," she told him. 

"You are welcome," he replied. "Come, if you want to be well away before your friends awake we should start walking now." 

"I know," Brynn agreed. She started off at a good pace, Yoshimo treading with silent footsteps at her side. "I wish we had horses, but it can't be helped I guess." 

They passed the silent trees, talking quietly and walking even more quietly, and hours later, after dawn had wrapped her pearly light all around the forest and the moon had slipped below the horizon to be replaced by the sweet shining sun, they were still walking. It wasn't until night had fallen heavy over the land again that they caught sight of the lights of Athkatla, twinkling dimly like the stars. 

To Be Continued 

*** 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

Authors notes 

A spot light illuminates an otherwise dark stage and a short woman whose most notable features are her knee-length blonde hair and the cerulean blue tattoo that winds all up the right side of her body walks onto the stage. She steps into the light and shuffles the papers she has in her hands. 

"Okay," she says uncertainly, "seems like the author wants me to read these for her... so I guess I will." She smiles and scratches the back of her head before she begins. "The author, The Blue Sorceress, writes, 

_'Thank you all for reading. If you've gotten this far I'm sure you've noticed some differences between the plot of my story and the plot of the BGII game. Although BGII has a great story line behind it I decided I could make it greater.'_

The blonde woman lowers the papers. "Boy does _she_ have an ego! Anyway, she continues, 

_'First off, I was disappointed by the lack of choices of romances if you played a female character, which of course I did. I've got nothing against Anomen, anymore, but I really don't like him either. Anyway as I played through the game the author parts of my brain were screaming, "but this would be so much better!" After a while my ideas coalesced_ _into this story, and I decided to post it at FF.N. I hope you enjoy it, and please don't forget to let me know what you think by leaving a review on your way out.' _

__"Oh gods!" exclaims the blonde woman, "We've got a blood review monger!" She sighs loudly and continues, 

"_'Reading my authors notes for me while I slave over my history homework is one of my original characters from my Dragon Ball Z fan fics, Chryseis de Curion. The relevance this has to the story that you've just begun to read is that "Chryseis" was originally the name I was planning on using for this story, but I posted my DBZ fic first, and not wanting to cause confusion to those of you who might be crossing fandoms, I changed the name of my BGII character to Brynn. Unfortunately I'd forgotten that one of the places in BGII is _Brynn_ Law... When I remembered I was already too far in writing this story to change the name of the main character, so I left things as they were. I guess this just goes to show that funny things happen when you get attached to one name. _

__

_Thanks, _

_The Blue Sorceress'_

Chryseis wads up the papers and tosses them into the dark. "Crap, she dragged me away from sparring for that? Ten says she's going to do it again to. Damn it all! Oh well, it can't be helped." She looks out into the darkened theater. "Well, readers, wherever you are, I guess you're probably going to be seeing more of me, Blue tends to get hooked on gimmicks. Oh gods! I'm a gimmick!" 

The spotlight goes out and Chryseis says into the darkness, "Blue, I'm going to get you for this!" 


	2. Black Ink

*** 

Chapter 2: Black Ink 

*** 

Her hands trembling with anger and frustration Jaheira picked up the neatly folded note that had been left on Brynn's rumpled bedspread and read it. 

_My friends,_

_I'm sorry to leave you like this, but I know if I told you face to face you would insist on accompanying me. I could not allow that. Your lives are in danger every moment you are in my company, and I can't endanger you anymore. I beg you, if you are truly my friends you will let me go on alone. Please don't search me out, and please forgive me for not saying good-bye properly._

__

_Brynn_

__

__Jaheira clenched her hands, crumpling the note. How could Brynn have gone and done this? Was she stupid? She would never be able to rescue Imoen on her own! Growling Jaheira took a moment to remind her self that Brynn was in all likelihood _not_ alone. The bounty hunter, Yoshimo, had also vanished during the night and he had probably managed to con Brynn into letting him accompany her. For the life of her Jaheira couldn't figure out whether that fact made her feel better or worse about Brynn's running off. 

Minsc, hovering like a tall pine over Jaheira's shoulder, said, "Boo and I were wondering what that says. Could you read it to us?" 

Jaheira suppressed an irritated sigh. Minsc usually didn't get on her nerves _that _much, but it was at times like this that she truly wished that another good belt on the head would jog him back to sanity. "Brynn, for the Gods only know what reason, has decided to go off on her own." 

Minsc shuffled uneasily. "Though Brynn truly is a righteous butt-kicking force of goodness how can someone as small as her plant her boots firmly in the rears of _big_ evils all by herself? Her boots aren't big enough." The hamster on Minsc's shoulder chittered. "Boo agrees," he added. 

Jaheira tightened her hand around the paper even more. "Minsc..." she began. 

At the door to Brynn's bedroom two pairs of soft-shod feet scraped across the stone floor of the keep and the elf girl, Aerie and the young human mage, Nalia poked their heads into the door. 

"Where's Brynn?" Nalia asked. 

"She's gone," Jaheira growled, not feeling like giving the long version of the story. "The bounty hunter has gone with her," she added. 

Aerie just looked around, her tip-tilted blue eyes wide. "Oh my," she murmured. 

"Ah!" exclaimed Minsc suddenly, "Minsc and Boo aren't worried! Two pairs of small boots can give as much kick as one pair of big boots." 

"Minsc, you're an idiot!" Jaheira snapped. "How much evil butt Brynn and the bounty hunter can kick is _not_ the issue here!" 

Minsc looked taken aback. He lifted his hamster off his shoulder and petted him with one great hand. "Please don't shout, you are upsetting Boo," he added much more quietly, "not to mention Minsc!" 

"Why would she leave?" Aerie asked in that sickeningly naive way she had. 

Jaheira tossed the crumpled note to the wing-clipped Avariel, "Read for yourself," she said. 

Nalia and Aerie scanned the note together. Aerie looked up when she had finished. "I never knew she felt that way..." 

"Don't feel bad, little one," Minsc said gently. He put the hamster back up his shoulder and patted Aerie on the back. "Not even Boo knew." 

Jaheira turned away from the trio at the doorway, trying to quell the urge to break something, most likely Brynn once she got hold of the errant girl. She took a deep breath, violence would get her nowhere now. Calming herself, Jaheira tracked her irritation to its true source. Jaheira hadn't known that Brynn was thinking of leaving either. That was what really got her angry. She should have seen some sign, after all she had been with Brynn the longest, and she knew her the best, after Imoen of course. 

She shoved one hand into her belt pouch, feeling the second note Brynn had left. That one had been addressed to Jaheira personally. It was an apology for getting her into this whole mess... and an apology for Khalid's death. Jaheira's heart constricted; _that_ loss was too fresh to think about without numbing pain shooting through her soul. Somehow Brynn had gotten the idea that the deaths of Khalid and Dynaheir, not to mention the torture they had all endured and Imoen's capture in Waukeen's Promenade, were her fault alone. Or at least that was what Jaheira could tell from the note. Brynn's sentences seemed unconnected, and her handwriting was sloppy, written with haste and fear. Jaheira knew that if there had been time Brynn would have also written a note for Minsc, even though the addle headed ranger would have been unable to read it himself. As it was there were a few lines scrawled at the bottom of the paper that Brynn had meant for Minsc, another apology this time for Dynaheir. 

Nalia's voice pulled Jaheira from her thoughts. "So, what are we going to do?" she asked. 

Jaheira turned back to the others. "We go after her of course." 

"But didn't she ask us not to follow her?" Nalia persisted. 

"She obviously isn't thinking right," Jaheira said firmly. "We cannot in good conscience let her go off on her own." 

"But she has Yoshimo with her..." Nalia began to protest. 

"I don't trust the bounty hunter as far as Aerie can throw him," Jaheira snapped. 

Nalia, wisely, chose not to argue any further. 

Jaheira took the note back from the two young women and shoved it into her belt pouch along with the other note. "We can only assume that they went back to Athkatla; that's where all the money is after all. Come on, gather your things and meet me at the gate within half and hour. They already have a head start on us let's not give them a bigger one by dawdling." 

*** 

Brynn looked around the tight confines of her room at the Five Flagons Inn. She sat on the edge of one of the room's two beds, with just a couple of feet between it and the other bed. A wobbly night stand was wedged up against the wall in between the two beds directly underneath the room's only window. Taking up most of the rest of the room was a small dresser pushed against the wall near the door. She sighed, in all her haste to pack her things and get out of her keep she had forgotten to pad her purse with a few extra gold pieces. She and Yoshimo had only been able to afford this single cheap room. 

Speaking of which, where had Yoshimo gone? Just as soon as he'd dropped his things into the room he'd gone off somewhere. She hoped he hadn't gone far. One of Athkatla's guard captains, something-or-other Aegisfield, had warned them as they had entered the bridge district that there was a murderer about skinning victims. Not that Brynn thought Yoshimo couldn't handle himself, she accounted him quite capable, she just was worried. 

"It would be just fitting," she muttered to herself, "if that murderer was one of Irenicus' henchmen." 

The door opened, the rusty hinges squeaking madly, and Yoshimo walked into the room, the hood of his leather jerkin pulled up over his head. He pushed the hood back before sitting down opposite Brynn on the edge of his own bed. "You should lock the door," he said. 

"What for?" Brynn asked. "Any thief in the city could get that lock undone in a second, and if someone wanted to kill me in my sleep they could break those rusted old hinges without even trying." 

"Yes, but the noise a would be thief or attacker might make picking the lock or forcing the door would be enough to wake you," Yoshimo pointed out. "The noise the same person would make just turning the handle and walking into the room..." 

"Rusty hinges, Yoshimo," Brynn argued, "don't forget the rusty hinges, the sound they make would be enough to wake the dead." 

"Then if not for our safety do it for my peace of mind, all right?" Yoshimo asked. 

"Fine," Brynn said. 

Yoshimo smiled tightly and emptied his pockets. A number of gold and silver pieces clinked onto the night stand. 

"Yoshimo you didn't..." Brynn began. 

"No," he replied with a small sigh, "I did not steal this. I had a few items I did not need so I sold them." 

Brynn's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry," she murmured. 

"Don't be," Yoshimo told her, "in your place I would have made the same assumption." 

Brynn shook her head. "No, I am sorry and I should be. I can't be picky where our funds come from right now, and I can't blame you for doing what you think is necessary." 

"It's not too late yet," Yoshimo said thoughtfully, "and I hear a troupe of actors has inhabited the playhouse in the basement, would you like to see a performance? I think one is about to start." 

Brynn shrugged. It didn't sound like too bad of an idea, though he feet ached from all the walking she had done and she might well have dropped off to sleep right then. At the though to sleeping she shuddered, no she didn't want to have any more of those dreams. "Sure," she agreed. 

Yoshimo stood up and got the door and Brynn followed him out. She locked the door behind them and went down the stairs into the common room. Another flight of stair on the other side of the room lead down into the basement where the playhouse was. 

A pretty young woman standing behind a small desk asked, "Are you here for the show?" 

Brynn nodded. "Yes, the two of us." 

"We're not charging admission, but any donations you'd like to make would be greatly appreciated," the woman said. 

Yoshimo dug a silver piece out of his coin purse and handed it to the woman who smiled gratefully and said, "Go have yourselves a seat anywhere you'd like. The show will begin in a moment." 

The theater was already pretty crowded, so Brynn and Yoshimo took their seats near the back on one of the many long wooden benches arrayed around the room and waited patiently for the play to begin. As the young woman had said, the play began only minutes after they were seated, the thing the woman hadn't mentioned was that the play was _awful_. It might have been passably good except the lead actor didn't seem to know any of his lines, and though his fellow actors tried to cover for him, his mistakes were painfully obvious. After a while the audience started to complain loudly and many people left. 

Frustrated and hurt, the poor young actor shouted, "I'm only the understudy!" and walked off backstage. 

The complaints only grew louder and Brynn and Yoshimo were about to leave, disgusted, when a woman walked onto the stage. "I am Raelis Shai," she said, "I am very sorry for tonight's performance. I ask for your patience, the star of our show has... been indisposed. I assure you that if you come back on another night you will be please with what you see." She paused. "Lastly, if there is anyone in the audience of the adventuring sort I ask for your help. You will be well rewarded for your services." With that the woman turned and went backstage 

Brynn turned to Yoshimo. "What do you think?" she asked. "Should we go see what sort of task she has?" 

Yoshimo stood up, "Why not? We could always refuse." 

They pushed their way through the grouchy, grumbling crowd, climbed up onto the stage and made walked back behind the patchy red curtains. The members of the acting troupe were arranged all around the backstage area, some muttering quietly to themselves, the rest stone were silent and sending angry glares at that evening's understudy. 

Raelis Shai sighed loudly and said, "I am sorry, but I cannot give you a refund for this evening's performance. If you would but come back another night..." 

"I don't want a refund," Brynn said. "I heard you say you were looking for someone to do a task for you. Yoshimo and I are interesting in hearing more." 

Raelis looked relieved. "Thank you," she said. "One of our actors, Haer'Dalis, was abducted three days ago by a wizard. I cannot understand why except that perhaps the wizard was interested in a bauble Haer'Dalis had in his possession. All I ask of you is that you retrieve our sparrow and his gem and bring him back to us safely. Are you willing?"  
Brynn nodded. "Sure, I'd be glad to lend a hand. You mentioned something about a reward?" 

"Yes I did," Raelis answered. "For the rescue of Haer'Dalis we would pay you five hundred gold, and for the return of his gem, I offer an additional three hundred." 

Yoshimo whistled quietly. "That is not a bad offer," he said to Brynn in a confidential tone. 

"Sounds fair," Brynn said. "D'you know where we can find this wizard?" 

"Of course," Raelis replied, smiling. "I do not know how you might access his home from above ground, but I believe there is a way to get in from the sewers." 

Brynn wrinkled her nose at the idea of tromping through the sewers. She thought she had put all that behind her back in Baldur's Gate. "Do you know where we can access the sewers from?" 

"I know that the entrance nearest to the wizard's home is in the temple district, but other than that I cannot say," Raelis told them. "I am sorry I cannot help you more than that." 

"Well," Brynn said, "I can promise you that Yoshimo and I will have your friend back safe and sound by this time tomorrow night if not sooner. Good night!" She smiled once at the actor, gave Raelis a quick bow, and head back upstairs, Yoshimo trailing in her wake. 

When they had gotten back to their room and closed the door Yoshimo asked, "By this time tomorrow? Are you sure that is not too optimistic?" 

Brynn sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled her boots off. "Not really. I don't think it will take long to find a way into this mage's home, and less time to convince him to release the actor." She grinned and unsheathed her katanas. "I can be pretty convincing when I want to be." She sheathed the weapons again, unbuckled her sword belt, and hung it over the post at the foot of her bed. She started to pull her tunic off over her head, but then thought better of it. "Would you turn around?" she asked. 

"Right away," Yoshimo replied hastily. He turned around and faced the wall. 

She slipped out of her tunic and trousers and pulled her nightshirt from her satchel. "Anyway it should be easy enough to get the actor," Brynn continued, "it's getting the gem I'm worried about. If it's worth anything the mage isn't likely to give it up easily. It might be good if neither of us mentioned it and you just poked around a little while I was bargaining with the mage." She pulled the nightshirt on and said, "You can turn back now." 

As if afraid she might pull a trick on him, Yoshimo carefully peered over his shoulder before turning all the way around. "That sound like a fair enough plan," he agreed. 

Brynn smiled. "Good," she said. She climbed into her bed and pulled the covers up over her eyes. "You can change now. I won't look." 

Yoshimo's only reply was to quickly get out of his clothes and under his own covers. When she was sure it was safe to look Brynn pulled her blankets off her face and blew out the room's dim candle. 

"Good night," she said, snuggling down into her blankets. 

There was a pause before Yoshimo replied, "Good night," and then all the noise there was to be heard came in from the city street below. Slowly those noises lulled Brynn into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

For a very long time Yoshimo stayed awake, his eyes fixed on the low ceiling of the darkened room. He was alert to every sound, from the calls of the prostitutes that roamed the streets at night to the barking of dogs and the clatter the innkeeper made below as he cleaned up for the night. He was most attentive though to the steady, quiet sound of Brynn's breathing only three feet away. She rested peacefully, shifting only slightly in her sleep, but even that sound was enough to drive Yoshimo to distraction. 

Once long ago Yoshimo's mentor, a man called Hiruma Sabishii, had told him that all he needed to do in order to live a long, prosperous life as a bounty hunter was follow three simple rules. The first was don't get too close, the second was never make a deal with a man that couldn't be trusted, and the third was never take on a job where the mark is a woman. So far Yoshimo had managed to break all three of those rules on this one job. 

He kept telling himself that it wasn't his fault. He hadn't known that Irenicus' prisoner was a woman, nor had he known when he'd agreed to the job that Irenicus was a demented monster. He hadn't known, but he could have found out. If he hadn't been pressed for cash and hiding from the wrath of the Shadow Thieves he _would_ have found out. None of that was his fault. 

But one thing was his fault. He'd broken the cardinal rule of bounty hunting. He'd gotten too close. He turned his head and looked across the room at Brynn. Her long blonde hair was spread out across her pillow and her lips were parted slightly as she slept. She seemed completely at peace, as if she felt utterly safe. And for all that sometime in the near future he was bound by the magic of the gaes to turn her over to Irenicus all he wanted to do was make sure that she could always sleep so peacefully. 

He turned his eyes away, but he could not turn his mind away. It seemed that ever since he had met Brynn she had been in his thoughts. Something about her that drew him in and pulled away his defenses. He couldn't say precisely what that something was, but if he had to call it something it was that she cared. From the first battle they had fought side by side she'd cared about him. From the moment she let him join her and her companions she had considered him a friend. Yoshimo couldn't remember a time when anyone else had concerned themselves about his fate. 

And so he was damned no matter what he tried to do. If he didn't deliver Brynn to Irenicus the gaes would kill him, and if he did he would be betraying the only person who gave damn about him. 

He closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep, but it took long restless hours for him to drift into slumber. 


	3. Charmed, I'm Sure

*** 

Chapter 3: Charmed, I'm Sure 

*** 

Brynn hated sewers, not just because of the smell, which was really something awful, but because of the spiders. Brynn _hated_ spiders. She wasn't afraid of them, she just _hated_ them with an almost maniacal passion. A particularly large spider, not of the monstrous variety, but pretty damn big nonetheless, happened to wander into range of her katana and no sooner had she seen it than it was a mess of spider guts on the slimy stones of the sewer wall. 

"Bloody spiders!" she swore through clenched teeth. 

Yoshimo chuckled quietly. "You know, the old wives tale goes that if you kill a spider it will rain." 

"I don't care," Brynn replied, wiping her katana off on the very bottom edge of her tunic, "I can handle being rained on, I even kind of like it sometimes, I _never_ like spiders." 

Yoshimo shrugged. "As you say." 

Brynn sheathed her katana and they continued on, leaping over frothy puddles of slime and other noxious things that were best left unidentified. Able to see in the dark, Brynn walked out in front, with Yoshimo behind her keeping an eye out in case something that lurked in the sewers thought to attack them from behind. All around there were rats, peering around with their little glowing eyes from the shadows. Whenever the light from the lantern Yoshimo held came around a bend in the sewer tunnels the sounds of rats scurrying away through much and fetid water could be heard. 

From the corner of her eye Brynn caught sight of the glow of another lantern and put up one hand, signaling Yoshimo so stop for a moment. "You're the sneaky one," she whispered, "you go see where that light's coming from." 

Yoshimo nodded and handed the lantern to Brynn before slowly he submerged himself in the shadows. If not for her infravision Brynn would never have been able to see him. He crept a little way down the tunnel toward the light of the second lantern, and eventually Brynn lost sight of him in the dark. She waited anxiously, straining her ears to hear if there were sound of a fight further down the tunnel, but she could not hear anything but the steady dripping of water. 

About five minutes later Yoshimo came creeping back down the tunnel. When he got back to Brynn he took the lantern back. "There is nothing to be concerned about," he said. "Just a lone man. He looks to be set up to sell something, though what it is I could not quite tell." 

"I wonder if he might know how to get to this mage's lair," Brynn said. "We might as go ask as long as you don't think he's dangerous." 

So they walked down the tunnel, this time doing nothing to hide their presence, and eventually they came upon a lone man sitting in a rickety old chair, a few sealed boxes around him. 

"Hello," said the stranger, "nice to see a few new faces down here. My name's Roger." 

"Hello," Brynn said. "My name is Brynn, this is my friend, Yoshimo. What are you doing down here in the sewer? It can't be for the scenery." 

"I might ask you the same thing," Roger countered evenly. 

"Yoshimo and I are seeking entrance to the home of a certain mage. We were told that there was a way to get in somewhere in this part of the sewers," Brynn replied. 

Roger frowned. "You mean Merkath? Yeah, I know of him. What do you want with him?" 

"He's holding a man prisoner, an actor. The actor's employer sent us to see if we could fetch him back," Brynn replied. 

"Oh," said Roger, "yeah, I think I know the guy you're talking about. He passed by this way three days past. He was a funny looking guy, and I'll tell you he made me a little nervous." 

"So, do you think you could show Yoshimo and I where the entrance to this Merkath's home is?" Brynn asked, glad that she had picked up a lead. 

"I don't know," Roger said uncertainly, "that all depends on what you'll give me in return." 

Brynn gritted her teeth. "We don't have much right now, pretty much just the clothes on our backs." 

Roger eyed Brynn's katanas, or more precisely, their sheaths, which in their own right were as much works of art as the blades they covered. "Suppose you trade me one of those swords..." 

"No," Brynn said shortly, "no deal. I won't part with either of my katanas." 

Roger nodded. "Okay then, come back when you've got something to bargain with and I'll help you out." 

"Wait a moment," Yoshimo spoke up, "surely their is something we can do for you. Perhaps there is a small task that you need accomplished." 

Roger pondered that for a while. "Yeah, I guess there is, but I don't know if the two of you are up to the job, which is why I didn't mention it." 

"I assure you, friend, Brynn Trueblade and I are up to any task you might put to us," Yoshimo said confidently. 

"Well," Roger said, still looking a little skeptical, "there's this sea troll hiding a little way down one of the tunnels that branches off to the right of this one. It's a mean little bastard and I'm no fighter, I'm a business man, otherwise I'd've done it in long ago. If you can kill it I'll guide you to Merkath's secret door and maybe even sweeten the deal for you a little." 

"Don't worry," Brynn told him, "we've just had _lots_ of practice killing trolls." 

"Yeah," said Roger, "well, I'll hold my judgment on that until you get back." 

Brynn smiled at him and she and Yoshimo started off down the tunnel they had been on before, going right. It wasn't long before Brynn smelled something other than the usual rancid stink of the sewers, a sort of briny scent that was coming from a passage to her left. 

"This way, I think," she said. "I can sort of smell it." 

"How can you smell anything in here?" Yoshimo asked. "I can barely breathe without feeling ill." 

"You didn't have to escape through the sewers in Baldur's Gate, not to mention search those same sewers for an ogre mage and his pet carrion crawlers," Brynn replied. "Eventually you become immune to the stink. I still hate the damn spiders though." 

The sound of something much larger than a rat sloshing through the waste water further down the tunnel silenced them both. Brynn listened closely and determined that what ever was down there was coming their way. The scent of brine grew stronger and from the darkness the form of the ugliest damn troll Brynn had ever seen materialized from the darkness. It was a dirty bluish-green, like befouled sea water, only much, much fouler. Its hideous jaws were filled with many sharp teeth that hung out over its black lips and its claws were long like long, dirty knives. 

The sea troll roared and came at Brynn and Yoshimo with the a sort of blind animal hunger. Brynn unsheathed her katanas both in one smooth motion and ducked below the first swipe of the monster's claws. She blocked the other raking attack with her the katana in her left hand, sheering off three of the troll's fingers. With her right hand she came around and struck the troll across the stomach. Green blood spurted out of the wound and some of it splashed onto Brynn, but she was in battle mode. Gook, grime, even spiders were all secondary concerns to her. All that mattered was her opponent and her ally. 

She rolled to the side, and the troll missed her again by mere inches. From the dark a flaming arrow shot out, striking the troll in the shoulder. Howling the troll clutched at the arrow with its injured hand and pulled it out. Now the smell of burning flesh joined the other scents in the sewer. Brynn took the opportunity Yoshimo's attack had given her and, concentrating all her energy into her next attack, she rushed at the troll from the side. One of her blades came down and cleaved off one of the troll's arms, the other tore a deep gash in the troll's leg. The troll roared again and stumbled. Another arrow flew from Yoshimo's bow, catching the troll in the chest and sending the creature tumbling to the ground. The troll began to struggle to its feet, but Brynn was there and she drove one of her blades through the troll's chest and into the muck below, pinning it to the ground. Yoshimo fired one last arrow, the bright magic flame that it bore snuffed the last of the life out of the dying troll. 

Brynn pulled her katana out of the troll's body looked for something to wipe it off on. Her tunic wouldn't do this time, it was already soaked in muck from when she rolled to get out of the way of the troll's claws. She settled, for the moment, with shaking the greater portion of the troll blood and gunk off of the blade. She didn't sheath either blade though, not wanting to get that sort of stuff in the inside of her sheaths where it would be a pain to get out. 

Yoshimo walked up and used his own katana to slice off the troll's head. "I think this will be proof enough," he said, holding up the grisly trophy. 

Brynn grinned. "Oh yeah," she agreed. "Come on, let's go collect." 

They made their way back through the sewer to Roger's tunnel. 

Yoshimo tossed the troll's head at Roger, "Catch," he said. 

Reflexively, Roger reached out and caught the head, then dropped it once he realized just what he was holding. "I guess you held up your end of the bargain. Didn't take you very long." 

"Like I said, we've had lots of practice killing trolls lately," Brynn said. "After a while you refine the whole process into something of an art." 

"I see," Roger said. He looked a little impressed. "Well, I suppose I should show you to Merkath's place then." He got up off of his chair and picked up his lantern. "Come on then, it's this way." 

"You said something about sweetening the deal...?" Brynn inquired sweetly. 

"Er... so I did," Roger said. Brynn suspected now that he was wishing he hadn't mentioned any sort of reward other than showing them the way to Merkath's secret door. He went over to one of the crates and lifted the lid. It took him a few moments of rooting around in the crate before he found what he wanted, a small, cloth wrapped package, which he handed to Brynn. 

Brynn unwrapped the cloth and revealed and pair of clear vials full of shimmering blue liquid. "Potions?" she asked. 

Roger nodded. "If you drink one it'll heal up your wounds. Maybe even save your life." 

"Thanks," Brynn said, grateful. It was a useful sort of reward for someone in her line of work. She handed one of the vials to Yoshimo and tucked the other in her belt pouch. The cloth she used to clean off her katanas. "You want to use this?" she asked, offering the cloth up to Yoshimo in case he wanted to clean off his own blade. 

"No, but thank you for the consideration," Yoshimo replied. "Come, we had better hurry before our guide gets impatient." 

Roger took the 'long' way to their destination, citing a number of unpleasant things that made going the 'short' way a bad idea. "There's a nest kobolds and something else up from where I've got my little shop, and up the other way a group of thugs have taken over a little corner of the sewers for themselves." 

"It's a regular tavern," Brynn muttered. "Next thing you know you're going to have the nobles putting in vacations homes down here and the Order of the Radiant Heart will move their headquarters down here." She was joking of course, but Roger frowned. 

"I'm more worried about the cult that's moved in up in the north end of the sewer. They have this thing about cutting out their eyes." 

Brynn made a face. "I've never heard anything so crazy before in my life," she said. Still, the thought was enough to keep her from saying anything more, and so the three of them walked on in silence until Roger called them to a halt. 

"Well, here's your door," he said, gesturing to a seemingly blank stretch of wall. He felt along one of the cracks in the stone work and suddenly the wall began to swing inward, making a sound of stone grinding on stone. "Have fun with Merkath," he added, "and if you're ever in the area again stop by. Maybe I'll have something you'd like." With that he started back down the passage the way he had come. 

Brynn peered into the room beyond the door and saw nothing but darkness. She signaled Yoshimo to follow her with the lantern and together they walked inside, sealing the door behind them. The room was small, its only feature a stone staircase going up from the wall to the right of the door. Brynn lead the way up the stairs, treading cautiously, and when they got close to the top and the light from the room above could be seen, Yoshimo snuffed out the candle in the lantern so that it would be harder to tell that they were coming. 

The moment they emerged from the stairs they were attacked. A half a dozen mephits surrounded them, breathing magic fire. Brynn reacted instantly, drawing her katanas and slicing the wings off of one of the little creatures before it could attack. Yoshimo drew his katana as well and bisected another mephit as drew back its head to breath another wave of fire. A third mephit Brynn pinned against the wall and decapitated while Yoshimo took out a fourth and fifth with his bow. Together they cornered the sixth against a bookcase and finished it off with cold efficiency. 

"This Merkath guy doesn't seem to like company," Brynn muttered, blowing on the back of her hand where it had gotten burned. Her right ankle also ached where she had twisted it avoiding another blast of fire. _So much for the benefits of fighting unencumbered,_ Brynn thought sourly as she fingered a hole in the hem of her tunic. 

She paused to examine the room. It was, or had been before the mephit attack, a neatly furnished rectangle, with three doors, two on either of the long sides and one on the left wall that led into a dimly lit hallway. 

"I say we go this way first," Brynn said, choosing the door to the left. She did her best to conceal the fact that she was limping and put the pain in her ankle out of her mind. 

"Allow me to lead," Yoshimo said. "That way we will know if this mage has left any nasty surprises for us." 

The dim hallway opened into another small room, this one apparently the mage's laboratory. In the center of the room, on a long wooden table in a sunken pit, was a skeleton. A human skeleton if Brynn's guess was correct. 

"Well, now we know what _kind_ of mage this Merkath is," she muttered, looking at the skeleton. "It's always the necromancers that go bad first." 

Brynn and Yoshimo started toward the doorway on the other end of the room, but stopped quickly when they heard someone call out from the hall beyond, "Who is there? What are you doing in my house?" 

There was nothing in the room to hide behind, and anyway the mage already knew where they were so Brynn and Yoshimo stood their ground and waited for the mage to appear. Merkath emerged from the doorway. He was a scrawny man with unkempt brown hair wearing blue and green robes, but his dark eyes held the sort of cunning that came with being a wizard. 

"Who are you?" he demanded a second time. 

"My name is Brynn Trueblade," Brynn answered, her right hand instinctively going to her katana. "I'm here to recover an actor named Haer'Dalis. His friends, not to mention the patrons of the playhouse, miss him." She smiled tightly. "It would be nice of you to hand him over." 

Merkath chuckled coldly. "You mean the incompetent thief that wandered into my home? No, I think I'll keep him. It has been ever so long since I've had a pet." 

Brynn dropped all pretense of pleasantness. "I don't think you understand, mage," she said, "you _will_ release the actor." 

"Or you will do what little girl?" Merkath asked, his voice laced with condescension. 

"Oh come off it," Brynn retorted. "What do you think the Cowled Wizards would say if they knew what kind of magic you were practicing. That is why you're hiding down here in the sewers, right? To keep what you're doing hidden for them. Tell me, did you just dig that corpse up from the graveyard or did you go and kill someone yourself?" She jerked her head toward the skeleton in the pit. 

Merkath spluttered, his face turning red with anger. "You dare to cross me?" 

"Oh I dare, mage," Brynn replied. "I'll bet you don't have any friends, so if you decide to start a fight with me and my associate here I doubt anyone will miss you. So how about we do this the peaceful way. You release the actor and I leave you alone with your corpse." 

"I will not be threatened by your ilk!" Merkath roared. 

Brynn shrugged. "All right then, come on, Yoshimo, we'd better go see if the authorities want to check this place out. I've heard that the guard has a special dislike for necrophilliacs... pardon, _necromancers_." She turned away from the mage and started walking down the hall toward the stairs, Yoshimo following closely behind her. 

"Are you sure that was... wise?" Yoshimo asked in a whisper. "It is never good policy to provoke the wrath of a mage." 

"He'll fold," Brynn whispered back. "Did you see the look he got when I mentioned the Cowled Wizards? He's afraid of them, no doubt about that." 

Brynn was right. Before she and Yoshimo had even gotten halfway to the stairs Merkath called after them, "All right, all right!" Brynn heard his footsteps coming down the hallway after them. He caught up, his face nearly white with fear, "You can have the actor. Just take him and get out!" He mumbled a few words under his breath and stomped back down the hall. 

After a moment Brynn heard a door slam and she gave Yoshimo a triumphant look. "I told you he'd give in. Only thing is we've got to find this Haer'Dalis fellow now. I suppose we should try one of the other doors." 

She went back into the room with the stairway and chose the door on the right, stepping carefully over the corpse of one of the mephits she and Yoshimo had killed. The door lead to a tiny room with a number of locked chests, and from there into what looked to be Merkath's bedroom. There was another door leading out of that room back down a long dark hall. Barely had Brynn set foot in the hall when she saw a man coming towards her from the opposite end. Yoshimo must have seen the man too, for he put his hand on the hilt of his blade and prepared for an attack. 

It was unnecessary caution. The figure coming down the hall was clutching his head in one hand, and steadying himself against the wall with the other. He looked up as he came near Brynn and murmured quietly. "So my bonds have been passed on to another. what cruel fate awaits me now? And I thought I had tasted freedom." 

Brynn shook her head. This must be the actor she had come for. For all the darkness in the hall all she could see of him was a glowing smudge. "You have tasted freedom," she told him gently. "I came here to rescue you. I assume you are the actor Haer'Dalis." 

"You assume correctly, lady raven," replied the actor. "I give you my sincerest thanks. But tell me, did the wizard also release the gem to you?" 

Brynn shook her head. "No, but I don't think he had it on him either. He had nowhere to carry it and there was no chain around his neck." 

"Ah," said Haer'Dalis quietly, "yes, I think I know where he keeps it. Follow me, for I may need your assistance in retrieving it." 

He headed back down the hall the way he had come and went into another room. Brynn waved Yoshimo along with her and followed the actor into what looked to be the wizard's private shrine. This room alone of the rooms in the wizard's home was brightly lit, and for the first time Brynn got a good look at the man she had come to rescue. 

Roger had said Haer'Dalis was a funny looking guy, but that hadn't quite prepared Brynn for what the actor actually looked like. For starters his hair was a bluish-gray with white tufts near his temples. His ears were almost elven, in that they were long and tapered to a point, but they were slimmer, not to mention that they bore a number of gold rings. His eyes were dark gray and stunningly beautiful, and his cheeks and chin were marked with what looked to be some sort of strange tattoo. But his looks weren't the half of it. He seemed to emit an aura of otherworldliness and something else that Brynn couldn't identify. She could however say with certainty that she had never met anyone before that looked anything like him. 

"The gem should be on the altar on the far side of the room," Haer'Dalis said, his words jolting Brynn from her surprised reverie. 

"Oh... the gem, yes. I'll go get it," she stammered, acutely aware that she had been staring. She felt her cheeks heat up and quickly she started toward the altar. 

A strong hand caught her arm. "Watch you step, the floor is trapped," Yoshimo said. He stepped in front of her and stomped one foot on one of the floor tiles then jumped back as a hole opened up in the wall to Brynn's left and two arrows shot out. They hit the opposite wall and clattered to the ground. Yoshimo walked over and examined the arrows. "Poisoned," he pronounced grimly. "I think that perhaps I should retrieve the gem. Stay back there with the actor where you will be safe." 

Brynn did as he said, a little annoyed. What was Yoshimo doing telling her what was safe and what wasn't? After all, he had decided to come along with her even though it put his life in jeopardy. He wasn't exactly the authority on keeping safe. Besides which, she could take pretty damn good care of herself. 

It turned out that the altar was locked as well as trapped, so it was a good idea for Yoshimo to get the gem after all. Yoshimo tossed the gem to Brynn as he walked back to join her and Haer'Dalis. 

"A fancy bauble, that one," he remarked. 

Brynn turned the thing over in her hands, it was indeed a fancy bauble, blue and covered with crystalline spikes, it had been carved so that it opened and closed, like a small box of some sort, and it made her hand tingle as she held it. She quickly put it in her pack. The gem held the same sort of otherworldly aura as its owner and she found it disconcerting to say the least. 

Haer'Dalis was grinning from ear to ear, "Come, my ravens, let us fly from this prison and to the playhouse where my friends await us!" he crowed. 

"Sound like a plan," Brynn agreed. The three of them made haste out of the mage's home, hoping that Merkath would not notice that the gem was gone until they were well away. 

*** 

The journey back out of the sewers was thankfully a quick one, and soon the trio found themselves breathing in the fresh, incense scented air of the temple district. Brynn lead them up out of a sewer grate near the headquarters of the Order of the Most Radiant Heart, an impressive stone building whose entrance was flanked by a pair of enormous stone knights. Brynn had seen many impressive things in her time, but she still found the sight awe-inspiring to say the least. 

Unfortunately she was so busy gawking that she ended up walking straight into a fellow passerby, bashing her nose against the unyielding metal of the other's breastplate. She fell back on to her bottom on the paving stones with a little cry of pain and got quickly to her feet. 

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you..." she apologized, rubbing her nose. She looked up at the person she had run into and found herself staring at a young human man. He was taller than she, but then again most people were, even other half-elves, and his square, blocky jaw sported a neatly trimmed brown goatee. 

"Nay, 'tis my fault dear lady, I was absorbed in my own thoughts as well. My name is Anomen, Anomen Delryn," the human replied pleasantly enough. Brynn just hoped the wind didn't change directions placing the young man down wind of her. He probably wouldn't be so pleasant if he got a good whiff of her. 

"I'm Brynn Trueblade," Brynn said. She would have offered to shake hands with him or something, but her hands were covered in troll's blood and sewer gook. 

Anomen looked thoughtful. "I have heard of you I think. Tell me, are you the same woman who put an end to the mischief of that gnome at the circus?" 

Brynn nodded. "Yes, that was me," she said. She tried to think of a way to politely excuse herself from the conversation so that she could deliver Haer'Dalis to Raelis Shai and be done with it. 

"It seems I travel in more noble company that I had thought," Haer'Dalis said quietly. "You did not make mention of any heroic exploits to me, my raven. You will have to tell me of it sometime." 

For the first time Anomen seemed to notice Yoshimo and Haer'Dalis, not to mention the state of Brynn's attire. "You look battle-worn, my lady. Do you require any assistance?" 

"No," Brynn replied quickly, "I'm all right, thank you for your concern though. Maybe I'll run into you again sometime... or not run into you as the case may be." She smiled a little and started to walk off, but as luck would have it, bad luck that is, she stepped on an uneven paving stone and stumbled, jarring her already injure ankle. She gave a little cry of pain and sank to her knees for a moment. In an instant there were two pairs of hands helping her up, Anomen on one side and Yoshimo on the other. 

"As noble as it is to brave your pain, my lady," said Anomen as he steadied her, "ignoring your aches for too long can be dangerous. Allow me to escort you to your lodgings." 

"I'll be okay," Brynn replied. 

"Nay, it would not be gentlemanly of me to leave you thus," Anomen replied. __

_Of all the times for chivalry..._ Brynn thought. 

"You needn't trouble yourself," Yoshimo said from Brynn's other side, his voice a little harsh. "I can help her." Brynn looked up and saw that the bounty hunter was glaring daggers at the other human, though for what reason she couldn't guess. 

"Obviously not well enough, friend. If that were so she would not be injured." Anomen replied. "Please, my lady, allow me to help you," he said turning to Brynn with a charming smile. He must not have noticed the way Yoshimo tensed up like a cat about to strike or he wouldn't have turned his attention away. 

Brynn put a calming hand on Yoshimo's shoulder. "It's all right," she said to him quietly. To Anomen she added. "We're headed to the Five Flagons in the bridge district, and there's been talk of a murderer in that area as of late, not to mention muggers. As it is I'm not going to be of much use in a fight, and I suppose and extra set of eyes to keep watch would be helpful." 

Yoshimo frowned. "If you say so," he said, dropping her arm and walking back toward Haer'Dalis. "Time for you to go home," he muttered to the actor. 

Brynn sighed quietly, wondering what had gotten into Yoshimo all of a sudden and started walking again, or tried to. As soon as she put weight on her right foot her ankle began to ache anew and pain shot all the way up her calf. "Bugger," she swore, feeling a strange looseness in the joint, as if something was pulled or perhaps even broken. It wouldn't have been the first time that in the heat of battle she'd continued forward on a broken bone. She had probably made the injury worse when she had tripped. 

Anomen put out hand and steadied her again. "Come, my lady, lean on my arm and I will help you. As soon as we get to your inn I will see what I can do to heal that wound. I am a cleric of some skill as well as a warrior," he admitted, his voice tinted with pride. 

"Oh?" Brynn asked. "Well, then as soon as we get to the Five Flagons I'll have you check my ankle out." Leaning heavily on Anomen's arm, Brynn lead the way back to the bridge district. 

*** 

Though the walk to the Five Flagons was short, even with Brynn's injury slowing them down, to Yoshimo it seemed an eternity. He focused his eyes directly at Anomen's back, as if he could drill holes right through the other man with only the heat of his gaze. Of all the pompous asses that roamed the streets of Athkatla and all of Amn for that matter they had to run into the most pompous ass of them all. The entire trip it was always, 'my lady' this or that, and always with that self-confident smirk on his face. That alone was enough to make Yoshimo's blood boil, but what really infuriated him was Anomen's simple assumption that he was the superior man. Yoshimo alone wasn't enough to help Brynn back to the inn, no Anomen had to insist on coming along to help her. 

Haer'Dalis whistled a few notes at Yoshimo's shoulder and said, "Green eyes do not suit you, my friend." 

"What do you mean by that?" Yoshimo hissed. "You cannot think that _I_ am jealous of that arrogant windbag." 

Haer'Dalis chuckled, "No, I do not _think_ that you are jealous, I _know_ it. And what reason is there not to be? I would hate to see some club-swinging lout steal away _my_ lady fair. Particularly if she were as fair a lady as Brynn Trueblade." 

"Brynn is _not_ my 'lady fair,' actor," Yoshimo demanded quietly, checking to see if both Brynn and Anomen were out of earshot. "I have pledged my service to her, and that is all." 

Haer'Dalis chuckled again. "Fine, fine, have it your way, my friend." 

They walked the rest of the way in silence. 

*** 

Limping, Brynn went down the stairs to the playhouse beneath the Five Flagons Inn, Haer'Dalis and Anomen and Yoshimo hanging further back. Raelis Shai was packing up set pieces and various bits of the regalia that went along with putting on a play. Boxes of props and costumes were strewn about, some half-full and others stuffed to the brim. The scene was one of chaos, but it had it's own sort of order. 

Raelis looked up from her work and, after spotting Haer'Dalis coming down the stairs, ran over and threw her arms around the actor. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed, releasing Haer'Dalis so that she could grasp Brynn's hands, "you have brought our sparrow home just as promised!" She paused. "Ah, but you have suffered for his speedy return. Sit, sit, and rest yourself!" 

"I think I'll do just that," Brynn said, suddenly feeling as weary as she must have looked. "I've got the gem too," she added, pulling the gem from her belt pouch and handing it to Raelis before she sat down on one of the theater's many wooden benches. "The trouble we had didn't even come from the mage, but from his pets and a sea troll, however that's a story for another time." 

"Indeed," Raelis agreed. She untied a fat purse from her girdle and handed it to Brynn. "In this you will find the agreed upon amount, though seeing what state you are in if I had more I would give it to you." 

"It's okay, eight hundred gold will put me a long way toward the amount I need to collect," Brynn replied. She tied the bag to her own belt and paused to work a kink out of her shoulder. 

"If I had another small task for you might you accept it if the reward was enough?" Raelis inquired, smiling pleasantly. 

Brynn frowned. "What kind of small task? Besides, I thought you were broke." 

Raelis' smile faded a little. "I have to save a few coins to repay whoever helps me this time around, wouldn't you say? It is a small task, but perhaps before you accept it I would be best to tell you a little of our history." 

"Yeah, maybe," Brynn agreed a little hesitantly. Something smelled rotten and she would bet that it wasn't her tunic this time. 

"You see, we are not from this plane," Raelis began, "we hail from Sigil where we had the unfortunate luck to be tricked into performing something we ought not have. It was a great play, well penned, but it seems there was a touch of truth in it. We barely escaped from Sigil with our lives and have been holed up here ever since. However, it seems that the bounty hunters that were sent to catch us are closing in." 

"I see," Brynn said. "What can I do to help?" 

"With this gem that you have retrieved along with Haer'Dalis my fellows and I will be able to open up a portal out of this plane and hopefully away from the bounty hunters," Raelis explained "The problem is that in doing so we also will release a number of creatures from the outer planes, and we need someone to fight them off whilst we finish opening the portal." 

Brynn sighed. It was all in a day's work, she figured, fighting off extra planar creatures while a troupe of renegade extra planar actors made their escape from extra planar bounty hunters. Yeah, all in a normal day's work for her. "Sure, I'd be glad to help," she said, "but could you give me half an hour? I know you're pressed for time, but I think my ankle's broken and though that fellow back there, Anomen, can heal me pretty quickly, I would like to change into some fresh clothes." 

Raelis nodded. "Half an hour I do believe we have. Go and do what you must, I will see you anon." 

Brynn smiled thankfully and hoisted herself carefully off the wooden bench. "Thank you," she said. With that she hobbled her way over to the stairs and started up, "Come with me, Anomen, I can let you look at my ankle up at my room." 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

Author's Note 

Once again you see only a black stage lit by a single spot light, the lovely warrior-woman, Chryseis, whom you might remember from last time, walks into the light, frowning fiercely. She holds a single sheet of paper in one clenched hand. 

"Well, I'm back again," she growls. Quietly she adds, "Stupid author and her stupid author's notes." 

A low rumbling is heard all throughout the theater, a sign from above it seems that Chryseis' grumbling will not be tolerated. 

Chryseis hurries to finish her duties. "So, this is what Blue has to tell you people this time around, 

_'Dear readers,_

_I'm glad that you're all back, and I thank everyone that has reviewed that past two chapters. I know this chapter was longer than the last two, but I couldn't find a good place to leave off. I changed the deal with Roger the Fence a little bit because it made more sense plot-wise to do what I did. And yeah, maybe the sea troll was a little easier to kill in the story than the game, but if you think about it cutting the arm off of anything is going to make it a whole lot easier to finish off. _

_Toodles,_

_The Blue Sorceress'"_

__Chryseis scrunches the paper up in her hand and tosses it away before she walks off, muttering under her breath about the sorts of things she wishes she could do to the author. There is another low rumble, and from backstage you hear Chryseis voice, "Oh shove it up your..." 

The last word is drowned out by thunderclap and the light on the stage fades away. 


	4. Imprisoned

*** 

Imprisoned 

*** 

As soon as Anomen had healed her ankle Brynn shooed him out of her room at the Five Flagons Inn and pulled a clean tunic out of her satchel. She changed and spent the rest of her half an hour divesting her katanas of the gunk they had accumulated. Just before going back down to the playhouse she used a short leather thong to tie her long hair back into a braid. 

Feeling much better now that she was clean and healed, Brynn walked down the stairs to the common room with a spring in her step. That, however, was quick to change. Seated around one of the round wooden tables near the bar were Minsc, Aerie and Nalia looking a little discomfited and for good reason. Jaheira had Yoshimo by the front of his leather jerkin and Anomen stood nearby trying to prevent a fight from breaking out. 

"Tell me where she is!" Jaheira growled, giving Yoshimo a stern glare. 

Yoshimo pried Jaheira's hands off and stood his ground. "Brynn..." 

"Is right here," Brynn said, speaking up from the stairs. She gave a weary sigh and walked toward them. "I asked you not to follow me," she said to Jaheira, "but then I suppose I shouldn't have expected you do as I asked this time, you never have before." 

"Only when you asked for idiocy!" Jaheira retorted. "You cannot possibly..." 

"I don't have time for this right now Jaheira," Brynn said, "I'm expected downstairs to help some people out. However, if you think you are going to wait for me here and discuss the matter with me, think again. I won't reconsider. Go back to the keep and be safe." She turned her back on her longtime friend and went quickly down the stairs. 

Raelis Shai, Haer'Dalis and the rest of the acting troupe were on the stage, probably preparing the spell that would open the planar door. The sound of more footsteps on the stairs behind her cause Brynn to whirl around, ready to engage in a shouting match with Jaheira if need be, but it was only Yoshimo coming down the stairs, Anomen trailing after him with a bewildered look on his face. Hopefully Jaheira and the others were to busy trying to sort things out up stairs to follow. 

"Go ahead, Raelis, I'm ready whenever you are," Brynn said, walking up and climbing onto the stage. She unsheathed her katanas. "Whatever comes out of your portal isn't going to get very far. 

Yoshimo leapt up onto the stage too, but Anomen hesitated. 

"Would you like some assistance?" Anomen asked. 

"Sure, lend a hand if you want," Brynn said, not really caring what he did, she was too annoyed to care about anything but the stubborn persistence of her friends and the task at hand. "Just be ready." 

Raelis and two of her fellow actors began to chant, their words indecipherable gibberish to Brynn's ears, and soon after, from one of the stage doors, came an imp. The imp managed a little impish cackle and got as far as halfway to the people gathered on the stage before Brynn winged it and spiked it to the stage floor. Then another creature came from the planar gate, a shadow, all but its glowing red eyes hazy and indistinct, but it too fell before it got far. The third creature to emerge was made all of fire, a resident of the elemental planes. This last did cause some trouble before it fell leaving only a heap of dimly glowing embers that soon faded and turned to dust. 

It seemed as though Raelis' spell was almost done, and the actors who were not busy came toward the doorway. Haer'Dalis hung back, as if for some reason he was hesitant to leave. Brynn didn't spend too much time wondering about the bard's strange behavior, instead she kept her eyes glue to the portal, looking for any other creatures that might try to slip through. 

"The portal is almost open!" Raelis said at last, her voice a faint whisper of what it had been before. The spell must have taken a lot out of her. 

Suddenly a half dozen of armor clad men and women appeared, swords and other weapons drawn. 

"We've caught you at last, Raelis Shai," said one of the men, and before Brynn could react each one of the newcomers grabbed hold of one of Raelis' troupe and pulled them into the portal. 

Brynn swore. Those must have been the bounty hunters Raelis had told her about. The delay Brynn had caused had cost the actors their freedom. "C'mon," she called to Yoshimo, "we've got to go after them." 

"What?" Yoshimo shouted back, hurrying over to her. "Our job is done here we need not..." 

Brynn didn't hear the rest of what he had to say. She stepped quickly into the portal and for several long, ugly, stomach wrenching seconds, she was thrown and buffeted around like a rag doll. It was one of the most unpleasant sensations she had ever experienced, but soon enough she felt her feet touch on solid ground. 

She looked around and felt a sudden shock go through her at the sight of her new surroundings. She stood in a circular room, with a high, domed ceiling. In the center of the room was a deep shaft, and the walls of walls of which were covered with sharp spikes. This was not a place one came to on purpose she suspected, not for prolonged visits anyway. 

Yoshimo landed beside her and then Anomen, who looked so utterly bewildered it was almost cute. What had he followed for anyway? And then four more people appeared, Jaheira, Minsc, Aerie and Nalia, and if Anomen looked bewildered the latter four looked in a far worse state. Brynn didn't care. They shouldn't have followed. Only Yoshimo was supposed to follow. 

"What are you doing here?" Brynn demanded. "Stop following me around!" 

"Ah... Brynn," Yoshimo said, directing her attention to the right. "We seem to have company." He was right, not far away stood the six bounty hunters, but there was no sign of Haer'Dalis and the other actors. 

Brynn narrowed her eyes and tried to look fierce, hoping to avoid a battle and cow the bounty hunters instead. "I demand to know where my friends are," she growled. 

"You followed us here?" demanded the man who had spoken back at the playhouse. "Are you stupid?" 

Brynn snarled. "You ought to know that I always kill the insulting ones first, scum, now tell me where my friends are!" 

As an answer the bounty hunter drew his sword and attacked. 

Brynn parried his blade with one of her own and shouted, "Well, what are you waiting for? Get them!" 

With that the battle began. Swords flashed, and spells flared, but Brynn's attention was focused solely on her opponent. Filled with the battle, the pair of them danced the most intimate dance of all, that of death. Brynn knew that one slip up could mean her blood spilling on the strange floor of this even stranger place, and she could feel in her bones that her opponent knew it too. Finally, the bounty hunter's guard slipped and Brynn felt her blade glide into his flesh, ripping his organs like wet paper. The man gave a small cry, and fell, sliding off of her katana and leaving his blood behind on the shining steel. 

Brynn's focus broke for a moment as she searched out a new target, but a moment it seemed, was all that was needed. She didn't know she had been hit until she felt the blood pouring down her shirt front, and only then did she look to her right shoulder and see the barbed tip of an arrow peeking out from her skin. Then the pain hit her. Like a tidal wave it washed away everything else and she sank to her knees without a sound. A fire burned in her shoulder, white hot and furious. She had been wounded before, but always she had escaped the serious wounds through luck or skill. She had never felt pain like this before. Dimly she heard someone call her name before blackness overtook her. 

*** 

Yoshimo saw her go down, and he felt something tear loose inside of him. "_Brynn!_" he shouted, trying to look her way and fight at the same time. A surge of emotion worked its pushed through him, and with unthinkable speed he spitted his opponent, a yuan ti mage of some sort, and pushed through the battle. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Anomen finish of his own opponent and head toward Brynn as well, but Yoshimo didn't care. All that mattered was that Brynn was on the ground with an arrow through her shoulder, and the one who had shot her, a human woman, was taking aim to finish her off. He was going to make sure that the archer never shot another arrow again. 

He ran the last few paces that separated himself and Brynn's attacker and with the back of his katana knocked the bow from her hands. The woman seemed surprised, caught just as she had caught Brynn, but she quickly went to her side belt and pulled a small dagger from its sheath. She attacked, but Yoshimo parried her blade, pulled his own dagger from his belt, and drove it into her chest just above the collar bone. She made a horrible gurgling noise and Yoshimo pushed her aside. 

He knelt down next to Brynn and lifted her to check her wound. He felt her hot blood wet his hands. She was bleeding badly, bleeding to death. Supporting her in the crook of her arm he tried to staunch the blood with his free hand, but it clearly wasn't doing any good. 

Anomen managed to make it to where Brynn had fallen and looked her over quickly. "We have to get the arrow out before I can heal her," he said gravely. 

Yoshimo never thought he would ever be glad to see Anomen, but he was. They worked together and snapped the point off the arrow where it came through Brynn's shoulder then pulled the shaft out. A gout of blood followed the arrow, but Anomen was quick and while Yoshimo held Brynn, he began to chant a healing spell. 

Soon Brynn stirred, and the blood stopped running out of her wound. Her eyes opened, as blue as a cloudless summer sky. Yoshimo felt her gaze pierce straight into his soul, and for a moment all the world but her eyes vanished. 

"What...?" Brynn began faintly, breaking the spell she had unwittingly cast. 

"You were injured, my lady," Anomen said. 

Brynn's eyes darted toward the human priest, "Mm," she grunted, "an arrow... I remember now." Yoshimo felt all of her muscles go suddenly taut as he held her. "Is everyone else all right?" 

Anomen glanced quickly around the room, "Only minor scrapes. Fear not, your companions fair well," he said. 

"The battle is over then?" Brynn asked. "We got them all?" 

"Aye, we did," Anomen confirmed, giving the room another glance just to make sure. "Here, my lady, let me help you up." He offered a Brynn a hand. 

"Don't trouble yourself, young Anomen," Yoshimo said crisply. He stood up with Brynn still in his arms then set her on her feet. One hand he kept on her shoulder though, and he could feel her leaning heavily into the extra support he provided. She seemed to be almost unaware of her surroundings. 

She turned to him a little unsteadily and gasped. "Yoshimo, you're hurt!" 

Yoshimo frowned. "I am?" he asked pausing for a moment to figure out if any part of him hurt. As far as he could tell he was all right. 

"You're covered in blood!" Brynn exclaimed. She put a hand on his chest. "Sit down, Anomen can heal you." 

"Brynn, that's your blood, not mine," Yoshimo told her gently. She really was dazed. 

Brynn blushed. "Oh," she murmured. Her face suddenly went pale and she wobbled a little. Just in time to prevent a fall she caught herself, but Yoshimo could see her struggling to stay upright. "I'm feeling a little dizzy," she said, as if admitting what was obviously a simple truth pained her more than the wound that had been inflicted. 

"Maybe another healing spell will set you rights," Anomen offered. He took a step toward her and gave her his usual charming smile. 

"Save your magic," Jaheira said, coming up from behind Yoshimo and stepping between him and Brynn, "I will take care of her." 

Brynn started to say something but her words fizzled. As his view of the situation was dominated by Jaheira's back Yoshimo could only guess that what took the words out of Brynn's mouth was a glare from the druid. 

Jaheira continued, "This never would have happened if you had not run off, Brynn. I have seen you make unwise decisions before, but this was perhaps the most idiotic thing you have ever done." 

This time Brynn did not falter and it was Jaheira who made the unwise decision. "Because I left you behind?" she demanded. Her anger overcame her weakness and gave her voice a strength it hadn't had a moment before. "I don't need you or anyone else to baby-sit me, I'm nearly twenty-five years old. Don't underestimate me, Jaheira." She pushed Jaheira aside and said to Yoshimo, "Come on we've got to find Raelis and Haer'Dalis." 

Yoshimo nodded, suppressing a concerned frown. As stubborn as she was Yoshimo knew there was no way Brynn was going to let Anomen or anyone else heal her until she got out of Jaheira's sight. The healing she had already received had stopped her bleeding and maybe had even restored a little of her strength, but she had still lost so much blood that Yoshimo worried that she might pass out if she didn't get more healing before facing another opponent. He hated the idea, but Anomen had to come with them if Brynn was to have any chance of making it out of the planar prison alive. 

"What about the priest?" he asked. "Do you want him to come with us?" 

"So long as he pulls his weight," Brynn replied shortly. "No more talk, come on and let's go!" 

To Be Continued 

*** 


	5. Reunited

*** 

Reunited 

*** 

"Should we follow her?" Aerie asked in hushed tones as Brynn left. 

Jaheira glared and Aerie flinched. "Of course we should follow her!" Jaheira growled. "Not only is she injured, but we will need her to out of here." 

"Boo says that he is worried about little Brynn," Minsc said. 

Aerie smiled a little at that, "I'm worried too," she agreed. 

"Quiet," Jaheira insisted, "we do not know what lurks within these unnatural confines so we would be best to keep ourselves silent. Come, I do not want to let Brynn far out of my sight." She started forward stiffly, obviously irritated with Brynn, and the others followed close behind. 

Aerie kept close to Minsc, thankful that the enormous ranger was there. Minsc had made her his 'witch', and though she did not know precisely what that meant, Aerie guessed that it was a pledge to protect her. Nothing felt safe within this strange prison, even the walls felt evil, as if tainted by long years of housing the prisoners and their jailors alike. 

"Why do you think Brynn is being so stubborn?" Nalia asked quietly, drifting to Aerie's side. "She wasn't so touchy before." 

"I don't know," Aerie answered. "She was always so nice to me, and when we ran into her at the inn she just looked at me with these cold eyes, like she was so angry she hated me." She looked up at Nalia, "I hope she's going to be okay." 

Nalia nodded. "That priest that went with her healed her a little, I just wish she would have let Jaheira heal her more." Nalia smiled a small, secret smile and leaned down to whisper in Aerie's ear, "But did you see the way Yoshimo panicked when Brynn got hurt?" 

Aerie nodded, remembering the look on the bounty hunter's face when Brynn fell, all twisted up like his world had fallen apart. 

"Wasn't it sweet how he rushed to her side like that?" Nalia continued. "I think he likes her." 

Aerie thought about that and could see no reason that it couldn't be true. "He might," she said. 

"I wonder if anyone will ever do something like that for me," Nalia said, her eyes a little dreamy. "It would be nice to have someone look at me like that." 

From the front of the group Jaheira hissed, "Stop muttering back there! Do you want everyone to know just where we are?" 

Aerie flinched again and Nalia dropped stepped away from her with a sulky look. Everyone reacted differently to Jaheira, Aerie thought. Minsc blithely ignored even her most irate fits of temper, or sought solace in the company of his hamster to escape her wrath. Nalia would drop into a stubborn, offended silence, angry at being reprimanded, but too well mannered to retort. Brynn... well Brynn used to stand silent until Jaheira stopped ranting and then reply calmly with a good argument. Often times Aerie had seen Brynn coax the druid into agreement. Now it was as if Brynn had become a completely different person. She hadn't even tried to reach a compromise, she'd just stormed away. And Aerie herself found Jaheira intimidating, afraid to talk to her after she'd received a heated retort for complementing Jaheira on her hair. She knew the reason for Jaheira's temper now and felt a great deal of sympathy for her, but she still couldn't bring herself to feel comfortable in Jaheira's presence. 

Duly reprimanded, Aerie continued to walk by Minsc's side, silent and thoughtful. She wondered, perhaps, if she might end up seeing more of the world than she wanted with her new friends, and whether or not she would come away from her travels with more good memories than bad. 

*** 

"Hold up a minute," Brynn said to her companions. She leaned against one of the odd, curving walls of the prison and took a deep breath, letting the tension in her body bleed out of her as she exhaled. 

"Can you go on?" Anomen asked, coming to stand near her. He looked down at her with concerned brown eyes. "Perhaps we should rest a moment..." 

"No," Brynn said quickly, "I'm okay." She fished in her belt pouch and withdrew the small potion Roger had given her. She popped the cork off of the vial with her thumb and downed the contents in one long gulp. Her body tingled and the pain in her shoulder faded from a dull aching down to almost nothing. The vial went back into her belt pouch in case she might find some use for it later and she stood away from the wall. Her legs felt strong again, not like they were going to turn to jelly any minute like they had before. She looked down at her shoulder through the hole in her blood soaked tunic and saw that her open wound was now mostly healed, with new pink flesh surrounding a rough scab. 

"We can go now," she said, "I just wanted to get away from Jaheira and the others." 

"What has gone on between you and those others?" Anomen inquired as they began to walk again. 

Brynn frowned. "They're my friends, but I don't want them traveling with me anymore." 

"May I ask why? They seem to care about you a great deal," Anomen said. 

"It's better for them if they don't," Brynn replied, not wanting to go into detail. 

"And perhaps better for you as well once we are out of this prison," Yoshimo added. 

Brynn looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Yoshimo was right, Anomen would be better off if he stayed away from her. "That's true," she said. "I'm glad you're here now, but it's dangerous to stay close to me." 

"Why is it so dangerous?" Anomen asked, his brows knit together in a curious frown. "Granted you seem to face battle more often than most, but I am a warrior as well as a priest of Helm and I am more than able to hold up my end in a battle." 

Brynn sighed, feeling sickly certain that Anomen would need a better explanation. "I'm a magnet for danger and death, Anomen," she said. "I would prefer not to have to say more, but I suppose I do owe it to you to tell you why your life is in danger." 

"I would not have you do something you would rather not," Anomen said politely. "I did not mean to pry." 

"Don't worry about it," Brynn told him, "It's just..." she trailed off as they rounded a corner. Straight ahead, down a long white hall stood one of the ugliest things Brynn had ever seen. It wore a full suit of plate mail armor and held in its clawed hands a enormous sword, fully as long as Brynn was tall. What Brynn could see of its skin was black as midnight and its eyes showed through the visor of its helmet, glowing like two hot red coals rooted in shadows. 

"Stars and moons!" Brynn shouted, coming to a sudden halt. 

Anomen said, in a tense whisper, "A cambion! I have heard tales of such things, but never set eyes on one myself." 

The cambion laughed unpleasantly, its voice rumbling down the hall. "I thought I heard a commotion," it said. "No matter, such fools as you are easily dealt with." It lifted its sword. "Come, Primes, I dare you to attack!" 

Battle-piqued, Brynn ran forward while the cambion laughed. Brynn assaulted the demonic creature with relentless intensity, but for all her focus and skill she could not get passed the cambion's guard. Each time the cambion blocked one of Brynn's attacks the shock of its parry drove her backward and slowing her down. Things were starting to get pretty hairy by the time Anomen had managed to catch up to her. He swung at the cambion with his mace, missed, and then barely avoided the cambion's riposte. Soon after one of Yoshimo's arrows pinged off the cambion's armor, and moments later another did the same thing. Things were starting to get pretty hairy by the time Anomen had managed to catch up to her. He swung at the cambion with his mace, missed, and then barely avoided the cambion's riposte. 

However clumsy it was, Anomen's attack gave Brynn the opportunity she need. While the cambion was distracted Brynn delivered a clean blow, slipping her blade in between the plates of armor that protected its shoulder. The cambion howled and turned back to Brynn, swinging its two-handed blade around with tremendous force. Brynn dodged the first blow and the second, but as the third came around she found herself pinned against the wall between two spikes. Frantically she brought both of her katanas up and crossed them, taking the cambion's attack where the two blades intersected. Even braced as she was the power of the cambion slammed her hard against the wall, knocking the breath out of her and leaving her weak-armed and dizzy. The cambion grabbed Brynn by the front of her tunic, slammed her against the wall again, and then threw her to the ground. Stunned, Brynn tried to get to her feet. She was only vaguely aware that Anomen tried another unsuccessful attack before being swatted aside. Lying on her back Brynn saw the cambion lift its sword high and prepare to impale her on the gleaming blade. She tried to get up, to roll away, to do anything to save herself, but the cambion stepped on her chest and held her down. 

"And now, fool, it is time to die!" the cambion roared. The blade began to come down, but its progress halted, and the pressure on Brynn's chest abated. Without a sound the cambion fell, crumpling like paper, a single arrow lodged in the visor of its helmet. 

Brynn took a moment to catch her breath before getting to her feet. "That's twice in one day," she said to Yoshimo as she prodded the cambion with the toe of her boot. "I must be loosing my touch. Good shot, by the way." 

"Indeed it was," Anomen agreed. "Most exceptionally timed as well, though perhaps you might have shot _before_ the monster had Brynn pinned." 

Yoshimo slung his short bow over his shoulder and walked over to where the cambion's corpse was slowly growing cold on the ground. "Oh? Perhaps next time _I_ will blindly charge the demonic creature while_ you_ try and hit its eyes beneath its helmet," he muttered. 

"I did not charge 'blindly'," Anomen protested heatedly, his cheeks flushing with what looked like anger. "I simply did what I had to do to help Brynn." 

"And I thank you for that," Brynn cut in, forestalling what was shaping up to be a nasty scene. "I'm thankful that I had both of you here to help. Come on, we've got to find out where they keep their prisoners in this dump and rescue Raelis and the others." 

*** 

It didn't take long for Brynn and her companions to find out where the actors were being held, nor did it take long to free them. Unfortunately the prison warden had destroyed the portal gem after taking it from Raelis, and the spell to open the portal was useless without the gem. There was another way out, but it meant going through the warden's personal portal, located in his command room, and that meant facing the warden. 

"Who is this warden anyway?" Brynn asked. "Do you think we could defeat him?" 

Raelis hesitated. "Yes," she said, "but we would need help. We alone cannot slay the warden." 

Brynn sighed, knowing that getting help meant going to Jaheira, if she could find her, something Brynn didn't to do. It wasn't so much because of her pride, though she had to admit that was part of it, but more because if she let the others help her now she would never be able to free herself from them again. The whole purpose of leaving them behind at the keep was to keep them safe from the destruction that followed her. Fate seemed to be conspiring against her, as it had been ever since she had left Candlekeep. Still, if it was the only way to escape the planar prison, Brynn supposed that she was going to have to give in this one time and let things take their course. She didn't like it, in fact she hated it, but she had no other options. 

"All right," she said, "a few of my other friends followed me here, if they help we should be set." 

"Are you sure about this, Brynn?" Yoshimo asked. He looked concerned. 

Brynn nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure," she said. "All right everyone, follow me, let's go see what this warden guy is made of." 

*** 

Anomen accounted himself a very accepting fellow, but even so there were some things he just couldn't let pass. And it just so happened that Yoshimo embodied about all of them. Where Anomen represented law, order and righteousness, Yoshimo represented everything he fought against, in other words the epitome of all that was wrong with the world. So Anomen couldn't help but feel resentful that Yoshimo was walking at Brynn's side while he was bringing up the rear of the group in order to keep an eye out for any possible attack from the rear. It really stuck in his craw so to speak. He wondered how in the world such a delinquent could have wormed his way into the company and confidence of an upright woman like Brynn, and was tempted to blame it on the duplicitous use arcane magic. He found himself running through a number of highly improbable scenarios where he, newly knighted and a member of the Order, would charge in, his armor shining in the sun, just in time to foil one of the bounty hunter's devious and fiendish plots. Of course the end was always the same, no matter what variation the rest of it took, Brynn would fall into his arms, showering him with praise and thanks while Yoshimo was carted off to the jail where he belonged. The whole Brynn falling into his arms part made him feel a little giddy, and he couldn't quite explain it, after all he had only met her that day. Something about her made his skin tingle with excitement and her eyes were positively entrancing. 

"Daydreaming?" Haer'Dalis inquired, drawing Anomen's attention. In the tiefling bard was another example of all that Anomen fought. He found the bard's morbid fascination with chaos as unnerving as the unnatural aura that surrounded him. 

"No," Anomen snapped. 

Haer'Dalis sighed and shook his head. "I will never understand you Primes and your habit of saying exactly the opposite of what you mean." 

"Save your words, bard," Anomen growled at Haer'Dalis, irritated by his presumption. "I need not take lessons in truthfulness from a liar such as yourself." 

"Ah, yes, but I lie on purpose, you do it unconsciously, though for what reason I cannot guess," Haer'Dalis replied with a rakish grin. "I must admit that whenever _I_ follow behind a lovely maiden I do a little daydreaming myself." He chuckled, apparently amused by his own wit. 

Anomen was less than amused. "Only one as depraved as you would think such things at a time like this. Keep your obscenities to yourself!" 

Haer'Dalis looked unfazed. "Methinks thou art a _little_ too uptight. You will never win the heart of a maiden that way. My friend, there are times when even the most demure wallflowers enjoy a touch of the wild in their suitors, and I dare suggest that yon lovely raven is not in the least demure." 

"How would you know the first thing about her?" Anomen demanded, dropping back a little. "You just met her this afternoon!" 

"As did you, my friend," Haer'Dalis pointed out. "Come now, I observe people and gauge their reactions as instinctively as I breathe, do you not think I would have at least picked up on lovely Brynn's temperament? She is a strong woman, sharp as the blades she wields, but more than just cautious when it comes to protecting her companions. She came here after all. No wonder she inspires such loyalty and affection in Yoshimo. 

"Another cur that does not deserve the company of such a lady," Anomen muttered. 

Haer'Dalis chuckled again. "You know, friend Anomen, you and Yoshimo are not so dissimilar as you might think." 

"I suggest you hold your tongue lest I cut it off," Anomen said, offended to his core. 

"If you could catch hold of my to do it I welcome you to try, though mind you I am a slippery target even at the worst of times," Haer'Dalis replied glibly. 

Anomen snarled under his breath and turned away from Haer'Dalis. "Just be quiet!" 

*** 

Jaheira held up a hand to call her group to a halt. Around the corner at the other end of the corridor Brynn appeared, looking weary and generally more untidy than she let herself get. Her ponytail had come half undone leaving her hair hanging in her face, and there was a smear of half-dried blood on her cheek. Still, even from this far away Jaheira could see Brynn's usual determination in her blue eyes. 

"Little Brynn looks cranky," Minsc commented. "Boo says that maybe she needs to kick some evil butt to make her feel better. What do you think?"  
"I think you need to be quiet for right now," Jaheira said mildly. "Let me deal with her please." 

Brynn approached, Yoshimo at her side, followed by a group of ragtag actors and lastly the warrior priest whose name Jaheira could not remember at the moment. Jaheira started to say something, but Brynn cut her off, succinct and to the point. 

"Do you want to get out of here?" she asked. 

Jaheira nodded. "Of course we do." 

"Then follow me, we've got something big to kill and I need you guys to help us out," Brynn replied, her voice deceptively calm. Jaheira knew better. It had to really rankle Brynn to ask for help, but Jaheira knew better than to rub that fact in Brynn's face at a time like this. 

"As you wish," Jaheira said. 

Brynn turned to one of the actors. "So, Raelis, where is this warden anyway?" 

The actor suddenly paled. "Behind you," she croaked. 

Jaheira whirled around and looked down the long white corridor. At the far end coming toward them was a tall black skinned_ thing_ in half plate armor. It carried in one hand an massive sword, and sheathed at its waist was a smaller sword. It was hideous. 

"Not another one of these things!" Brynn exclaimed. "It's even uglier than the last one!" 

"Prepare to die, Primes!" the Warden rumbled, advancing an avalanche toward them. 

Many voices filled the corridor as Aerie, Nalia, Jaheira and the priest all began to cast spells and Brynn, Minsc and Yoshimo shouted their battle cries, raised their weapons and attacked. 

*** 

Brynn reached the Warden just before Minsc, driving the demonic looking creature back with her furious assault. Minsc came in on the Warden's flank, forcing him to split his attention two ways. This was a strategy Brynn and Minsc had perfected together through long practice in battle. Instinctively Brynn knew where Minsc would attack next, and so she could distract an enemy, darting in and out of the reach of their weapon, while the tall ranger dealt punishing blows with his two-handed sword. It worked the other way too. Minsc's impressive size and strength often made opponents consider him the greater threat so he drew more attention, and Brynn, small, quick, deadly accurate, and far from weak herself, would slip in and deliver a death blow. 

This time, however, things didn't go as planned. The Warden was obviously no fool, and as soon as it became apparent that concentrating on either Brynn or Minsc alone was as foolhardy as trying to fight them both equally, he retreated and caught Brynn off guard by casting a spell. All of a sudden it seemed that there were ten Wardens, all identical in every detail down to the cruel smirk that twisted their rubbery black lips. Brynn had seen this particular spell (mirror image if her guess was correct) enough times to know that there was still only one real enemy, the trouble was figuring out which was illusion and which was real. 

Which was easy enough if one had a spellcaster handy. "Hey! Aerie, Nalia," she shouted, sizing up the situation, "do your spell thing and fix this!" 

"How?" Aerie and Nalia asked in tandem. 

The Warden charged, and Brynn, feeling panicked, replied, "I don't know! You're the mages! Do a mage thing!" 

That seemed to jolt both of the young women to their senses, and they both began to recite the incantations to some spell or another. Brynn didn't really care what they did just so long as they got it done. She refocused on the Warden, trying to discern some difference between the many duplicate images that were charging her. The air was to thick with the smell of sweat and blood for her to tell by scent, and she didn't trust her nose all that well anyway. She couldn't choose by sound either, the noises in the hall echoed so much that she couldn't tell what sound was coming from where. Sight was right out, that was the problem, and she had a feeling that if she tried to choose by touch it would involve getting her fingers lopped off. That left only one option, and Brynn wasn't sure she would be able to concentrate enough to use it. 

Touga Kurai, her sword master, had taught her that when the five senses fail to rely on something less tangible. The powers of a Kensai worked on one basic, but key element, the life force of the Kensai herself, her _ki_. Everything that lived had _ki,_ and so it was possible to fight by sensing an opponent's _ki_. Trouble was that Brynn had never succeeded more than once at sensing another's _ki,_ even against Touga during her training, and the likelihood that she would be able to fight relying solely on her ability to sense _ki_ against a complete stranger, not to mention a foreign species, was slim. Still a slim chance was better than nothing. 

Already focusing the flow of her own _ki_, it only took Brynn a moment of concentration to spread herself out. Like tiny sensitive feelers Brynn felt her awareness spread out so that the ripples of air as she lifted her katanas felt like a stiff wind against her skin. Sounds of voices chanting spells, blades leaving their sheaths, the distinct _twang_ made as Yoshimo shot an arrow, all of it assaulted her ears with the intensity of a thunderstorm. She shut her eyes against the myriad sights that suddenly became clear to her in their sharpest detail. 

And then she felt it, a sharp surge ofsome deeply alien life force. It stayed with her only for a moment, like the concept of a rainbow flashing across the mind of a blind man who understands for a second what one looks like before the sudden intuition is gone. It was enough, she felt herself move, her eyes shut tight, concentrating only on where that surge of energy had come from. The rest of the world seemed to move in slow motion as she brought her blades down with all her strength. 

The first katana missed, but the second struck, and Brynn felt her arm vibrate as her blade connected with the metal plates that surrounded the Warden's shoulder. She forced the blade down, and felt it bite into flesh. She opened her eyes and saw the bright red orbs of the Warden stare back at her from beneath his helmet. 

An instant later Nalia and Aerie's spells dispelled the illusion and the images vanished, and the world caught up to Brynn. 

The Warden roared and despite his injured shoulder brought his sword to bear, seeming suddenly swift compared to a second ago. Brynn barely managed to bring her katanas up to block the heavy blade as it crashed toward her unprotected skull. The Warden, powered by rage, forced her blades lower and lower, and the tip of his sword missed splitting her chin in two by a hair's breadth. She tried to force him off balance, but she felt drained. Her arms gave out and she jumped back just in time to avoid being gutted by the Warden's blade. Her already mangled tunic ripped all the way down the front and a thin line of red appeared on her pale skin from her collarbone to her bellybutton. 

Drained or not that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Brynn screeched, beyond enraged by miles. "Just. Because. I. Don't. Wear. Armor. Doesn't. Mean. You. Get. To. _Rip. My. Damn. Shirt. Off!_" she shouted, punctuating each word with an attack. The Warden blocked clumsily, driven back by her fury, and Brynn managed to knock the sword from his hands and pin him against the wall. She raised both blades at once and sheered through the Warden's armor, flesh and bone, splitting him into four pieces that hit the ground with a wet _thunk_. 

She took a moment to catch her breath and calm down. It was then that she noticed that everyone else was utterly silent. She sheathed her katanas and turned around, pulling the tattered pieces of her tunic together. The wide eyes that greeted her were a little intimidating. 

"Well that was... impressive," Jaheira murmured. 

"Oh my!" Aerie exclaimed in a whisper. 

"Wow," Nalia said. 

"My lady you were..." Anomen began. 

"That deserves a ballad if not more," Haer'Dalis said with a little whistle. 

"I don't think the Warden is going to be getting up again," Yoshimo said blandly. "Remind me never to make you mad." 

It was Minsc who summed it all by saying, "Little Brynn has grown up! Minsc and Boo are so _proud!_" 

Brynn turned red and pulled her tunic together a little more. "Yeah, yeah, let's just get out of here." 

Which is just what they did. 

*** 

To Be Continued 

*** 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

Once more a bright spotlight lights up the stage and your ever-faithful reader-of-author's-notes walks out. Standing in the middle of the spot Chryseis shuffles the papers in her hands. 

"Yeah, you know the routine, you listen I read," she says irritably. 

_"Dear Readers,_

_I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Last week I had exams, and this week is play week, where everyone in my little high school runs around frantically getting ready for our performances. Anyway, that's my reason. The next chapter will be the last that follows directly after the events in the one before. I figure than neither you nor I need to spend the excess hours reciting the multitudes of quests you go on before heading out to Spellhold (which is where all the good stuff starts). I'm going to cover directly the major events that wouldn't have occured in the game (because I changed things ^ - ^). Expect the gushy romance to start up soon, which means celebration for some and sighs of impatience for others who prefer the blood and violence chapters. Don't worry I like to gut bad guys as much as the rest of you, so expect more bloody fights later. _

__

_Thanks,_

_The Blue Sorceress_

__

__Chryseis folds up the papers and shoves them into one of the many pockets in her cloak. "Gods do I ever hat 'gushy romance'! How can the same person who created _me_ write 'gushy romance'?" she says. She gives the audience a long-suffering look, "I pity you people alomst as much as I pity myself for being forced to read these dumb author's notes to you. I only hope you're able to keep your sanity through these next few chapters. I know I'm not going to be able to!" 

The lights go out, leaving behind an empty auditorium and a dark stage. 


	6. Never Alone

*** 

Chapter 6: Never Alone 

*** 

Sitting on her bed at the Five Flagons, Brynn sighed in dismay as she fingered the hole in her tunic before she flipped it over to examine the frayed edges left from when the Warden had sliced it apart. Add to that damage all the blood stains and it was readily apparent that the tunic was a total loss. It wouldn't have been that bad if her only other tunic hadn't been slimed, charred and covered with troll's blood earlier that afternoon. Essentially she was shirtless. Thankfully Yoshimo had been kind enough to lend her one of his tunics. It was so big on her slight frame that she felt like swimming in fabric, and even laced all the way up the neck line dropped low enough that she worried about bending over. Still, it was the thought that counted, and besides, Brynn didn't really care if her hands disappeared up her sleeves and she looked like she was wearing a ten-man tent, what mattered was that she had something to wear at all. 

There was a knock at the door, soft and polite. 

"Who is it?" Brynn called out. 

From the other side of the door came Jaheira's voice. "May I come in?" 

Brynn sighed again. She really didn't want to talk to Jaheira, but only because she knew the older woman would somehow convince her to join back up with the others again. Brynn had been anticipating this confrontation ever since Jaheira had shown up that afternoon, and she knew that she could only delay so long. 

"Come in, the door's unlocked," Brynn said at last. 

Jaheira entered the room and sat down opposite Brynn. "So," she said, "I take it you will be trying to leave us behind again." 

Brynn nodded slowly. "And I take it you're going to try and convince me not to." 

"You are correct," Jaheira agreed. 

Brynn spoke quickly, not wanting to let Jaheira get her argument out first. "Listen, Jaheira, I admit that there are times when I need you and Minsc and everyone else, but you saw what happened to today, you know that's the sort of thing that happens around me. Every moment you're with me you're in danger, and I... I just can't deal with the thought that I might get another one of you killed..." 

Jaheira held up a hand. "You have done nothing to get anyone killed, Brynn." 

Brynn shook her head. "You know as well as I do that if you and Minsc had never followed me from Baldur's Gate Khalid and Dynaheir would still..." 

"No!" Jaheira said sharply. "No, you cannot take the blame for their deaths and place it on your own shoulders." She swallowed hard. "Irenicus killed my beloved Khalid, not you Brynn, and Irenicus killed Dynaheir. Neither Minsc nor I blame you for their deaths, and you should not blame yourself either." 

"I'm cursed, Jaheira. I _am_ a curse," Brynn returned emphatically. "I've failed both you and Minsc and... and I won't let you get hurt anymore just because of me!" 

"You are being a fool!" Jaheira snapped. "If you are curse, and by association so am I so be it! I choose to stay by your side, I choose to, Brynn, just as Yoshimo did. If I die because of that choice it is my own fault, not yours. Minsc and Aerie and Nalia choose to stay with you too, and even that priest, Ano-something-or-other..." 

"Anomen," Brynn supplied. 

"Yes him, and the bard Haer'Dalis as well," Jaheira continued. "We all choose to stay with you, despite your 'curse', the bard _because_ of it." Jaheira stood up and placed her hands on Brynn's shoulders. "Brynn you cannot just turn us away. I promised Gorion I would protect, and guide and serve you, and because I believed in you I vowed again to keep that promise. And Minsc... do you know how you hurt him by turning him away? He believes that you think him unworthy because he failed Dynaheir." 

"That's not true!" Brynn protested. "I just wanted to keep him safe." 

"But to him it seems that you are just pushing him away because he failed," Jaheira pointed out. "Aerie and Nalia were placed in your care, and now they do not know where to turn. They depend on your wisdom and leadership to guide them." 

"That's the first time you've ever saidthat I'm _wise_," Brynn said with a bitter little chuckle. They _depended _on her... 

"But I mean every word of it," Jaheira said firmly. "When you are not being a stubborn fool you are very wise. Brynn, we need you, and you admitted that you need us as much. Cursed or not, Brynn, we cannot just go our separate ways." 

Brynn bit her lip, anxious. As usual Jaheira was right, and not only that she made sense. There was no argument that Brynn could make to counter the druid's that she could put her true feelings behind. She wanted her friends around her, she had never wanted to be away from them to begin with, but she thought it was for the best, for their protection. She was afraid though, that her friends would be hurt or killed because of her selfishness in keeping them near. But if they knew the danger, if they wanted to come with her despite the darkness that chased at her heels, then there was little she could do to stop them. 

"All right," she said, "come with me if you want. Just... just stay alive, all right? I don't want to lose anymore of my friends, not for any reason." 

Jaheira smiled and squeezed Brynn's shoulder. "Thank you," she said. "I will go down and tell the others. Come and join us in the common room if you like." 

"No, I'd rather just stay up here, I'm kind of tired," Brynn replied. "Tell everyone that... that I'm glad to have them back." 

"It would be better coming from you," Jaheira reminded her. 

"I know," Brynn said softly, "I'm just feeling a little out of it." 

"As you wish," Jaheira said, a little reproach creeping into her voice. She turned and left the room, and Brynn found herself alone again. 

She lay back on her bed and closed her eyes. She had felt alone since the day Gorion had died, and no matter how close she was, no matter how crowded the room, she always felt isolated, as if she stuck out like a rock amidst a never-ending ocean of water. She knew it was partly her fault, she cut herself off from the others, covered her true feelings with a mask of optimism and hid all her doubts deep down where no one would ever find them. It was part of being a leader, but it also meant that she had no one to help her shoulder the burden of her fears and concerns. It meant that there was no one _she_ could depend on to protect _her_. She rolled over and pressed her face into her pillow, willing herself to be strong, if only because her friends need her to be. 

*** 

For a while Yoshimo listened as the others sipped their ale or wine or whatever and talked about various things, but he remained silent. He felt like he was apart from them, he had always felt out of place in the west. His features marked him as an outsider, and while he had been at least above average height in Kara-Tur even many of the women in Amn stood a few inches taller than him. He stuck out like an elf at an orcish celebration. And meanwhile, Haer'Dalis, a tiefling who went through life surrounded by an aura of wrongness and a head of bizarre bluish hair, fit in like one of the family. Even if he had been as tall as Minsc, with pale hair and eyes, customs and culture still would have set him apart. By the standards of the society he had been born in western culture seemed barbaric and crude, though he had learned never to judge anything in the west by the standards of Kara-Tur. Half the things Anomen had said that day would have earned him honor duels in Kara-Tur, and if directed at the wrong person, a swift trip to the executioner. And so while the knight-hopeful prattled on about honor and nobility Yoshimo sat silent and wondered if Anomen knew how his arrogant, self-righteous bragging would sound to the ears of a Samurai who knew true honor. 

It didn't take long for Yoshimo to get tired of sitting in the common room. His ears buzzed with the muted hum of conversations from other tables and the more immediate giggling noises Aerie and Nalia made as Haer'Dalis flirted with them shamelessly. No wonder Brynn had decided to get some rest instead of coming down to join the rest of the group. 

"It is getting late, and my eyelids are growing heavy," he said, pushing his chair away from the table, "so I think I will bid you goodnight and see you in the morning." He didn't give anyone the chance to protest -not that he thought that anyone would- and quickly retreated up the stairs. 

The upper floors of the Five Flagons were quiet compared with the common room. A little noise drifted in from below the floorboards, but otherwise it was silent. The quiet was a relief to Yoshimo, an oasis of peace in the middle of a swirling morass of chaos. He found a window that led out onto the roof, and climbed out. A wind from the north blew cool air across his face, and he sat down on the wooden shingles to enjoy the breeze. 

Night was the only time he ever felt at home. No matter where he was the city lights always seemed the same from a dark rooftop, and until dawn at least he could pretend that he had never left the cities of Kara-Tur. He looked around his lofty perch, unconsciously noting the various buildings that looked like good targets for a little late night _exploring_. After all, the faster Brynn got the money together to pay the Shadow Thieves for their help the sooner he could deliver her to Irenicus and the faster he could forget about her. A part of him wanted to delay, to keep her close for as long as he could, but what good what that do him? Eventually he would have to turn her over to Irenicus, that or die, and the more time he had to get attached to her the more difficult it would be to betray her. As it was the mere thought of letting Irenicus get his filthy hands on her made him feel ill, or angry, or both. What she would do when she found out he was a traitor wasn't something he could think about without his insides twisting up. He could almost see the revulsion and accusation in her eyes already. 

"I'm sorry," he whispered into the darkness. 

"What for?" 

Yoshimo nearly jumped out of his skin. He had _not_ been expecting a reply. He turned, and saw Brynn leaning out the window he had climbed through. She joined him on the roof, sitting next to him with her legs pulled up to her chest. 

"What are you sorry for?" Brynn asked again. 

"Nothing," he replied, "nothing that concerns anyone here at least." 

"Oh," Brynn said. "So what are you doing up here?" 

"Enjoying the night," he said. "And you?" 

"I heard you thumping around up here and I wondered what was going on." Brynn smiled a little, her face lit by the light coming through the window. The effect was enchanting. "Something the matter, or are you just tired of being around all the loud people downstairs?" 

"The latter," Yoshimo said. "Anomen's incessant bragging was getting on my nerves." It wasn't that much of a lie at least. 

Brynn chuckled. "You should be nicer to him, you know. He means well, and he's not such a bad fellow. I'm sure if you got to know him you'd like him more." 

"Or I would want to kill him," Yoshimo replied with a shrug. 

Brynn elbowed him gently. "Come on, be nice to him, as a favor to me." 

Why did that make him want to hurt the fool priest even more? Maybe Haer'Dalis was right and he _was_ jealous of the attention Anomen paid to Brynn, and more to the point Brynn's response to that attention. She really seemed to like it. "Perhaps," was all he said. 

"I don't see why the two of you can't get along better," Brynn continued. She shivered and edged a little closer to him, probably because the wind was making her cold. 

"Oh?" Yoshimo asked archly. "Perhaps it is his arrogance, or his judgmental hypocrisy, or his self-righteousness." Or perhaps because he was always trying to sidle up to Brynn and engage her in witty conversation. 

Brynn sighed. "I give up," she said. "Still, you could at least pretend to be nice to him. There's no reason to egg him on." 

Of course there was, if he angered Anomen enough perhaps he could get the fool to challenge him to a duel of honor. Then he could dispatch the priest without having to feel guilty about it. It wouldn't work, Brynn would stop them before such a duel ever got off the ground, but it was still nice to daydream. 

"As you wish," was what he said. 

"Thank you," Brynn replied. "It's bad enough I have to worry about keeping you guys safe from attackers and my own aura of death and misery, I don't need to have to worry about keeping you safe from one another." She sounded a little bitter and troubled. 

"As I said before, I can worry about myself," Yoshimo reminded her. "And I think that perhaps Jaheira, Minsc and the bard are similarly capable. Aerie and Nalia are hopelessly naive, though, and you should take care that Anomen does not collect too many enemies with his stupidity and clumsiness." 

Brynn was quiet for a long time and Yoshimo began to wonder if he had said something wrong. At last she spoke up, her voice soft, "Are you so sure? Sometimes I wonder if I can do what little I have to in order to keep even Minsc and Jaheira and you safe. I wish they didn't need me so much. Then I could leave them behind again without feeling like I failed them somehow." She sighed. "Damned if I do damned if I don't, if you know what I mean." 

"Not quite," Yoshimo said. 

Brynn exhaled slowly and said, "Never mind then, it's complicated. Let's just say that if I left now to keep them all from getting hurt I'd probably end up doing more harm than good." She turned shifted a little and when he looked over at her she was staring up at the sky. He followed her gaze and they sat there for a moment, their eyes turned toward the starlit heavens. A shooting star swept across the sky before vanishing into the dark again. 

"Make a wish," Brynn said. 

"Pardon?" Yoshimo asked. 

"When you see a shooting star you make a wish," she explained. "But don't tell me or it won't come true." 

Well thinking of a wish was easy enough. All he wanted was to stay like this forever, with her by his side watching the stars, but he knew that it was a hopeless wish. A hopeless and dangerous wish. _Never get too close_, he reminded himself. It was a little pointless to think of that at this juncture, but it helped him keep his head on straight. 

"Did you do it?" she asked after a moment. 

He nodded, "Yes, and you?" 

"Yes," Brynn said. She sighed, sounding as if all the tension and worry she had been feeling a moment ago had left her. "I would stay out here like this forever if I could," she told him, unwittingly echoing his wish with her words. She leaned her head against his shoulder, sending a little shock through him from head to toe. "It's so peaceful out here, so quiet and relaxing." 

"Indeed it is," Yoshimo said, all the while thinking that he would probably find running through a madman's dungeon more relaxing than having her leaning against him like she was. It strained his determination to have her so close, her cheek resting on his shoulder, her hair brushing against the back of his hand, the warmth of her lithe form pressed against his arm. It was maddening. For a moment he thought that perhaps, just this once, he could say to hell with the rules and wrap his arms around her and forget Irenicus and the geas that bound him to serve the evil mage. That was what his heart wanted, but he knew better. Nothing could ever happen, it couldn't be helped. 

"You know," Brynn murmured, "sometimes I feel so alone, even when I'm surrounded by a room full of people, but whenever I talk with you I feel like I'm never alone. You're a great friend like that, you know." 

_A great friend..._ "Thank you," Yoshimo said forcing his words past the lump in his throat. 

"I'm glad I came out here," Brynn continued. "I was feeling pretty rotten earlier, but talking to you helped." She stood up. "I'm going to bed. You should come in soon, this breeze is cold and you might catch something." 

"I will," he assured her. It wasn't like he could feel the cold though, his whole right side burned where she had been touching him. 

"I'll see you in the morning down in the common room, we need to get everyone together and make some plans." 

"I will be there," he said. 

"Good night." 

Yoshimo forced a smile. "Good night," he replied. 

Brynn smiled briefly and ducked back through the window, disappearing as quickly as she had come. 

Letting out the breath he had not even known he had been holding Yoshimo turned his eyes upward again just in time to see another shooting star flash across the sky. He closed his eyes and made another wish. 

_Let me be strong_. 

*** 

To Be Continued 

*** 


	7. Confessions of a Knight Errant

*** 

Chapter 7: Confessions of a Knight Errant 

*** 

Above the wooden door into the upper rooms of the Copper Coronet hung the head of a Shadow Dragon. This grisly ornament marked the headquarters of the Blades of Honor, the newest, and most successful adventuring company Amn had seen in years. The leader of the Blades was Brynn Trueblade, a petite half-elven Kensai of remarkable skill and charismatic beauty, and her followers were an eclectic bunch of men and women to be sure. Though their ultimate goals were unknown in the last three months following the debacle at Waukeen's Promenade the Blades of Honor had begun to carve out a niche in Athkatla and the rest of Amn, first by ending a series of murders in the Athkatla Bridge District, then by exposing a band of slavers that had been operating out of the Copper Coronet. For their part in his rescue, Hendak, once a slave who had been forced to fight as a Gladiator in the back rooms of the Copper Coronet and now the inn's new owner, gave the Blades part of the upper floor as a base for their operations, though Brynn Trueblade had insisted upon paying at least a nominal fee for the space. A week after that news came from the town of Trademeet that the Blades had not only removed a group of Shadow Druids, but had also rid the town of a number of troublesome Djinni and peacefully solved a dispute between two rival families. Not long after that the Blades had arrived in the sleepy village of Imnesville and destroyed a the shade lord that had set up in an abandoned temple and whose minions had been killing the farmers in Imnseville. On a side note that was where they got the dragon head to go over the door to their headquarters. The Blades returned to Athkatla with the halfling warrior Mazzy Fentan among their number, having rescued her from the clutches of the Shade Lord. Enlisted by the Temple of Helm, the Blades helped the Paladin Keldorn Firecam to clean a beholder cult out of the sewers. It wasn't too long after that that one of the Blades, Anomen Delryn, was knighted by the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart. 

Which isn't to say that the Blades never dealt with the less than savory members on Athkatla society. It was rumored that Brynn Trueblade's right hand man, a bounty hunter from far away Kara-Tur Yoshimo, had dealings with the Shadow Thieves, and more than once Brynn herself and several of her companions had been seen entering the Shadow Thieves' base in the Docks District. It was also a well known fact that the Blades had freed a female drow that had been caught within the city, preventing her execution. They had also at various times counted among their number Jan Jansen, a gnomish inventor and peddler with a bit of a record for illegally selling his various creations. 

The more generous members of society, and the many folk whom the Blades had assisted during their time in Athkatla, simply overlooked these transgressions. After all, everyone knew that the government itself had a noninterference policy regarding the Shadow Thieves, and more often than not more could be accomplished through unofficial and occasionally illegal channels than through the government. As for the drow elf and the gnome... well, rumor had it that after one got to know them they weren't _so_ bad. 

*** 

Brynn scratched her chin and eyed the chess board with the sort of ferocious intensity she usually reserved for battle. Across the table from her Anomen sat back in his chair, confident of his victory. Smiling tightly Brynn moved her bishop forward. "Checkmate," she said. 

Anomen sat forward and examined the pieces with a startled look. "Verily," he said, sounding a little put off, "I think I have met my match." 

"Don't sweat it, Anomen," Brynn told him. "Strategy games were a hobby of mine back at Candlekeep, that is when Master Touga wasn't training me and drilling me without mercy." She smiled ruefully. "Those were the days. Do you want another game or are you going to pack it in for the night?" She reached across the chess board for her pieces that Anomen had captured, but Anomen surprised her by clasping her hand in both of his. "I need that back," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. "I can't play chess very well if you've got my hand, and I don't even want to go into how difficult it would be to bathe..." 

Anomen smiled a little, but his eyes were serious. "My lady, my heart is bursting with words that have gone to long unsaid. Prithee, let me tell you what I long to say." 

Brynn kept a straight face, but she felt a little uncomfortable. This had been building for a while now. As near as she could tell Anomen had been showing signs of a sort of un-platonic fondness for her ever since she had managed to convince him not to go and slay his sister's killer. At first she thought it was just his attempts to find someone stable to anchor him firmly since his father had officially disowned him in a drunken fit and he had yet to be accepted as a Knight of the Order, but in the week since he had been knighted Anomen was beginning to be more... attentive... to her than ever before. She didn't really mind it so much, she was fond enough of Anomen, he was handsome certainly, and really a sweet man when he wasn't putting his foot in his mouth because of his self-righteous attitude, or about to get in a brawl with Haer'Dalis or Yoshimo. Sure he could be really aggravating sometimes, like when he leapt to judgment before all the facts were in, and it _did_ get on her nerves when he just sort of _assumed_ that she would agree with him, but she was slowly curing him of both of those habits. 

"What do you want to say?" Brynn asked, already knowing the answer. 

Anomen smiled again, a touch more broadly this time. "My lady, for some time I have been growing ever more fond of you. Before my Test I could not afford the distractions that a more... romantic relationship with you would create, but now that I am Knight I felt it imperative that I tell you how I feel. I love you, my lady, I dare say I have since I met you, and it would please me to no end if you were to say you feel for me even a fraction of the love I bear for you." 

Brynn gave mental whistle of wonderment. "I can see why your heart was bursting," she said. "That's some sentiment." 

"It is more than just sentiment, my lady," Anomen insisted. "I mean every word of it." 

"I believe you," Brynn assured him, feeling decidedly put on the spot. "I know that you never say anything unless you really mean it. It's just that it's a lot for me to think about all at once. I admit that I am fond of you, but I don't know if I can even begin to match the sort of love you're feeling. I'm going to need a little time to figure things out." 

Anomen looked a little disappointed, but resolute nonetheless. "I have waited this long, my lady, and I would wait to the end of the time for you if need be," he said, raising her hand to his lips and kissing it with his usual chivalrous charm. Brynn felt her cheeks heat up a bit as she blushed, embarrassed by his earnestness. Men didn't usually act this way toward her, in fact she couldn't name one that ever had, up until now every man she had known had considered her a friend and nothing more and she had to admit that the sudden attention Anomen was giving her made her a little light headed and giddy. It really was very sweet. 

The door to the Blade's headquarters swung open, letting the sounds of the tavern common room below drift in. With a bright smile and merry eyes Yoshimo came through the door, followed closely by Minsc and Jaheira. 

"Good eve..." Yoshimo began. He stopped mid-word as soon as he saw Brynn and Anomen. "Pardon," he said somewhat stiffly. "I did not know you were busy. We will be out of your hair in a moment." 

Brynn snatched her hand back from Anomen, her blush turning up a few notches. "We weren't busy," she lied. Behind Yoshimo and Minsc, Jaheira was giving her an 'Oh really?' look. 

Minsc scratched his bald, tattooed head. "I don't know what is going on, and Boo says not to ask, so I will go to bed now and see you in the morning. Nighty-night, Brynn." With that he disappeared into the hall that lead to their rooms. 

Jaheira just raised an eyebrow and said, "It _is_ late, and we all should get some rest." She gave Brynn a significant glance before she too retreated to her room to sleep. 

"Ah... well, my lady," Anomen said, obviously as embarrassed as Brynn was, "I ask that you ah... think about what I have said. I bid you good night for now and wish you the sweetest of dreams." And then _he_ left for his room, probably anxious to go hide his head under his pillow and wait for things to die down. 

Brynn really didn't blame him. She laughed a little uncomfortably and said to Yoshimo, who was still standing by the doorway, "You up for a game of chess?" 

"No," he replied. "I was just going out for some air. Good night." He turned around and went right back the way he had come, shutting the door behind him. 

Sighing, Brynn packed up the chess set and tucked it underneath the table. She felt like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar or something. She hadn't _expected_ anyone to come up the stairs right then, nor had she expected them to be so uncomfortable. Then again she hadn't expected Anomen to profess his undying love either. Well, there was nothing she could do about it after the fact, and she couldn't be certain yet that she _wanted_ to do anything about it at all. It might just turn out that the others would have to get used to her being snuggly with Anomen, if she ever managed to figure out how she felt about him. She shook her head, foreseeing all sorts of complications in her near future, and decided to follow the example her friends had set and turn in for the night. She fell asleep quickly, and her dreams were as sweet as Anomen had wished. 

*** 

Morning came and Brynn dressed and went down into the common room, joining the rest of her eclectic group of companions at one of the large tables near the bar. Aerie, Nalia, Mazzy and Haer'Dalis were all grouped together at one end, and Minsc and Anomen flanked Jaheira near the middle. There was a great deal of room at the table because depending on what was going on the Blade's numbers could increase dramatically. Brynn had acquired a good deal of allies while collecting money around Athkatla and at various times any number of those allies might drop in and see if they might lend a hand in the Blade's latest mission. Jan Jansen, the gnomish inventor and illusionist was known to frequent their headquarters if only for meals and to tell stories, and every so often Viconia would sneak in at night to grab a decent meal and report strange goings-on in the graveyard. Such reports had been coming more and more frequently since Brynn had refused the offer made by Bodhi, head of the guild that had been warring with the Shadow Thieves, something that made Brynn a little uncomfortable. 

This morning however there were fewer people at the table than usual. When Brynn sat down at her usual place opposite Jaheira she noticed that Yoshimo, who always sat on her right, was missing. She wondered briefly where he had gone and whether he had even come in last night at all. More and more often Yoshimo had been cutting himself off from the group, keeping odd hours and avoiding her when he had the chance. She had been planning on talking to him about it for the past week, but with everything that had been going on and him being increasingly hard to track down she hadn't had the chance. She was quite frankly a little worried about him despite his assurances that he just simply wanted to be alone. 

Brynn was relieved when halfway through breakfast the door near the bar opened and Yoshimo walked in, but her relief was short-lived. A little red-eyed from lack of sleep Yoshimo didn't even stop to grab a bite to eat or even say hello before he went upstairs. 

"Well, something took the 'good' out of _his_ 'good morning,'" said Haer'Dalis grinning lopsidedly, "He's not his usual merry self at all." He turned to Brynn, still smiling. "My raven, last night I had a stroke of genius and penned out a marvelous little ballad for you, perchance do you care to listen to it?" 

Brynn shrugged. "Sure, if you like," she said. 

Haer'Dalis pulled a few neatly folded sheets of paper from his pocket and cleared his throat. "I am as of yet unsure of the title, my raven, but 'Dragon Slayer' comes to mind as a possibility." 

"That sounds nice, Haer'Dalis," Brynn told him. "Go ahead and read it too me... or sing it if there's a melody." 

"'Tis yet without a melody, but it will not be that way for long," Haer'Dalis replied. He began to recite the ballad, an account of the battle with the shadow dragon and the Shade Lord in the abandoned temple of Amaunator. It was really very good, one of his better ballads so far, even if he did exaggerate a little bit. It probably would have been even nicer had Brynn been able to concentrate on it more fully. 

"That was lovely, Haer'Dalis," she said when he was done. "I especially liked the way you described the death of the dragon." 

"Thank you, my raven," Haer'Dalis said to her. "I dare say it will be even better when I put it to a tune." 

Brynn nodded. She finished up her breakfast quickly, hoping to get out early and poke around town for a bit to see if there was any heroics to be performed and whether or not there would be a reward. She was close to having the money to pay the Shadow Thieves for their help, just over a thousand gold shy, and she was anxious to be on her way to rescue Imoen. Anomen followed her up the stairs, probably eager to speak with her alone after last night's little fiasco. The door closed behind them and he turned to her with an earnest expression. 

"So, my lady, have you had time enough to consider my words?" he asked. 

"Well yes but..." Brynn began uncertainly. 

"Forgive me," Anomen said, "I know I must seem overeager, but truly it is the fervor of love that spurs me onward." 

"Well, pretty words like that should come with pretty gifts." Brynn turned her head and spotted Yoshimo standing in the doorway to his room. He gave Anomen a derisive smile and reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold necklace studded with sparkling gems, sapphires, Brynn thought. "Here, catch," he added, tossing the necklace to Anomen. "It even matches her eyes." 

"Silence, cur!" Anomen snapped, snatching the necklace as it sailed toward him. "The day I take advice from you on how to treat a lady is the day the world ends!" 

"What a shame, and I went to all the trouble of going out and... acquiring... that bauble all for your benefit," Yoshimo mocked. 

Anomen gave a short bark of laughter. "As if you would ever do anything for another if it meant taking money from your own pocket!" 

"Who said I paid for it, priest?" Yoshimo returned. 

Brynn could see Anomen's knuckles turn white as he clenched his hand around the necklace. "Thieving dog!" he snarled, his voice dangerously quiet. "I have endured your insolence and your lawlessness this long only because Brynn counted you as a friend, but this is too much! How dare you dishonor both her and me with _this?_" He tossed the necklace to the ground. 

"What do _you _know about _honor_?" Yoshimo demanded, his hand going to the hilt of his katana. "I could ask you the same question," Anomen returned, reaching for his mace. 

Brynn's stomach lurched as she realized that things were getting out of hand. After she had worked so hard to keep them all safe from their enemies for so long, after she had stayed up nights sick with worry that she might lose one of her friends in battle with some monster, after all that the threat of death was coming from within her party. Anomen and Yoshimo would kill each other right then if she gave them the chance, she knew it. She couldn't let them, not after all they had been through. "Anomen, Yoshimo, stop this right now!" 

"Nay, my lady, I've let this _scum_ live for far too long," Anomen said quietly as he drew his mace. 

Yoshimo drew his katana, the sound of the metal sliding against its wooden scabbard terrible to Brynn's ears. "You could never even hit me, boy," he snarled, his fingers tightening around the katana's hilt. 

The two men charged at one another, and Brynn jumped forward, interposing herself between them. Anomen stopped just in time to avoid smashing her in the ribs with his mace, and Yoshimo barely missed slicing her arm off. 

"Stop it!" she shouted, "both of you stop it right now!" Her throat tightened up making her voice crack. "Stop it! Don't do this to me! Don't!" 

"My lady step aside..." Anomen began 

"No!" Brynn snapped. "No! I don't care if you think he ought to die, Anomen, I don't care! Yoshimo is my _friend!_ You can hate him all you want, but if you kill him I... I... I don't know what I'll do, but I swear, no matter how I feel about you now, I'll forget it all in half of a heartbeat!" 

Anomen took a step back, a shocked expression on his face. 

"And you!" Brynn continued, turning on Yoshimo, "What were you thinking? Why provoke him?" 

Yoshimo looked down, his dark eyes full of shame. "I am sorry," he murmured. 

"You're sorry?" Brynn demanded. "Do you think that's good enough?" 

"I..." Yoshimo began. 

The door to the Blades' headquarters swung open and in walked Jaheira, Minsc and a well-dressed man Brynn did not recognize. 

Brynn willed the flush of anger in her cheeks to go away and said to Yoshimo and Anomen in a collected voice, "I'll talk to both of you later." Chastised, both men left, Anomen to the common room and Yoshimo to his quarters. 

Brynn pasted a smile on her face and turned to her guest. "Hello," she said cheerfully. "I'm sorry about that, I had some... routine problems to resolve. Might I inquire as to your name?" She took a moment to look the stranger up and down, noting the fine gold embroidery on his red silk jacket and the aristocratic way he held himself. He was handsome, his features slender and his dark eyes beneath red brows full of spirit and perhaps a little arrogance. 

The stranger smiled back coolly. "I am Lord Jierdan Firkaag," he said, his voice deep and distant without sounding unpleasant. "I assume you are Lady Brynn Trueblade, leader of the Blades of Honor?" 

"That I am," Brynn replied, "how can I help you?" 

Lord Firkaag's smile faded. "I have a job for you," he said. "My lands have been invaded by a group of ogres, vicious ones, and I would request your assistance in... removing them. The reward will be well worth your efforts I assure you." 

"How much?" Brynn asked, skipping further pleasantries. 

"Fifty thousand gold," Lord Firkaag replied without missing a beat. 

Minsc whistled and even Jaheira seemed taken aback at the sum Lord Firkaag had named, but Brynn kept her cool. "Those must be _some_ ogres," she said straight-faced. "Still, so long as you're paying, I'm willing to lend a hand in dealing with them." 

"Excellent," Lord Firkaag said. "Excellent indeed. If you have a map around I will mark the locations of my holdings for you, and you can leave at your earliest convenience." 

Brynn went to a table that stood against one of the walls and rifled through some of the papers on it. She found the map she was looking for, a precise rendering of Amn that she used when getting down important locations and put it down on the table in the center of the room for Lord Firkaag to see before snagging a pen and an inkwell for him to use. Lord Firkaag marked the place on the map that indicated his lands, and recapped the inkwell while Brynn studied the map. 

"Windspear Hills, huh?" she asked aloud. "No wonder I haven't heard of you, that's on the other side of Amn from here. Don't worry though, it shouldn't take to long for us to get out there and get rid of your ogre problem." She left the map out so that the ink could dry. 

Brynn and Lord Firkaag shook hands to close the deal and then he left, rather quickly she thought, but then again a member of the upper crust like Firkaag probably didn't want to spend too much time in a slums district inn like the Copper Coronet. 

"All right, get everyone together and tell them we'll be moving out before midday," Brynn said to Jaheira and Minsc. "We'll make a stop over at the keep on the way to check up on things, but then we'll be walking all the way to Windspear Hills." 

Jaheira sort of smiled. "As you wish, oh fearless leader," she said. 

She and Minsc left, and Brynn sat down heavily on in a chair near the map. _Fearless leader, _she thought sourly, _fearless my right arm! I just hope I can keep Anomen and Yoshimo off each other's throats until I can sort out what's wrong with them both._

__

__

*** 

To Be Continued 


	8. Head Versus Heart

*** 

Chapter 8: 

Heart Versus Head 

*** 

Yoshimo had screwed up and he knew it. He spent the entire trip to the De'Arnise Keep berating himself silently for it, and after a brief moment of trying to blame it all on Anomen, he decided it was impossible to shift the blame from his shoulders and gave up. Now, one day's walk from the keep, he had given up caring about how badly he had screwed up and instead only cared about somehow regaining Brynn's confidence and friendship or even a word or two outside of what was necessary to get through the day. Anything had to be better than her silence. She probably knew where the blame lay too, he figured. 

He honestly didn't know what had come over him. Surprise, maybe, and a good dose of jealousy perhaps, to add that little kick of insanity. He certainly had been shocked to walk in and see Anomen mashing his lips against Brynn's knuckles, and more than just a little jealous. Then to run into them again the next morning... he had just snapped. It was only for a moment, but in that moment he had felt alive, like he was doing something he could really put his heart behind. His anger, his determination to fight Anomen to the death had been no lie, and neither had the shame he had felt moments later when Brynn had turned on him, her face red with anger. He had no idea how he could have been that stupid. He had no idea how he could have thought for even a moment that if Anomen were reduced to a cold corpse that everything would be better. He had no idea how much it would hurt Brynn to see the him and Anomen really fight. It had been a stupid, selfish mistake, Yoshimo knew that much, and every instant since then he had regretted that mistake with all his heart. 

"Good afternoon, friend," Haer'Dalis said, sneaking up to Yoshimo's side near the back of the party, "I've been working on..." 

"I have heard your new ballad enough times to make me sick of it already, Haer'Dalis," Yoshimo said bluntly. "Go away and sing your little tunes elsewhere." 

Haer'Dalis gave him a grin. "You misunderstand," he said, "this is a new work. I've yet to figure it how it will end though and I was thinking that you might be able to help me out." 

Yoshimo looked at Haer'Dalis coldly. "I am not interested in your works of fiction," he said. "Go away." 

"But it's not a work of fiction," Haer'Dalis told him. "It's simply a story that has yet to find an ending, a love story. I need your help in figuring out if the dashing thief will ever tell his lady of his love for her, or if he will let the handsome but arrogant knight steal her away without even putting up a fight." 

"Listen, tiefling," Yoshimo snarled under his breath, "unless you want to _lose_ that glib tongue of yours I suggest that you _go away_." 

Nonplused, Haer'Dalis said, "All right, just think about it, and perhaps you will find some way of helping me." With that he scurried up to Brynn, whistling the tune of a bawdy bar song. 

Just think about it? Yoshimo gave a bitter laugh and wondered if it was possible that he could do anything else. 

*** 

Brynn hated to admit it, especially after Anomen had been so attentive to her during the past two days, but the spark just wasn't there. Whatever relationship she had with Anomen was utterly spark-less. Sure she loved him, just in a completely unromantic sort of a way, more or less the way she loved all her close friends. She wished she could have it be otherwise, but she didn't see any chance of a spark developing no matter how much time they spent together, in fact, she was pretty sure that the longer they were in each other's company the more convinced she would be that there was nothing between them. 

Try convincing Anomen of that though! Brynn didn't even want to think about how she was going to tell him she didn't care for him like he did for her. Even with her officially 'undecided' he was like a wriggling puppy at her feet if she said so much as one kind word. It made conversation difficult to say the least. More to the point she knew Anomen had a relatively fragile grip on his emotional stability. Although being accepted into the Order had seemed to glue him back together after he had been shattered by his sister's death that glue wasn't all _that_ strong, as the incident back at the Copper Coronet had shown rather dramatically. 

Which reminded her, she still had to corner Yoshimo and give him an earful for his part in that fiasco. It was his fault as much as Anomen's, probably even more so since Yoshimo had to know that Anomen wouldn't stand for blatant thievery. Really, that sort of thing raised Brynn's hackles too, but she didn't get into a killing rage about it. She'd have to talk to Yoshimo about that too, not only because it was wrong, but because if he got caught it would look really bad for Brynn and the rest of the Blades. She figured that as soon as she made things clear to Yoshimo she could end her silent treatment. Just two days in she was already starting to miss talking to him. Hell, two _hours_ in she had missed talking to him. It was funny, now that she had a chance to think about it, how she had come to depend on him for his support and friendship. She would have cleared things up when they had stopped at the keep but he had disappeared when she went to look for him. He was too damn good at staying hidden when he wanted to for his own good. 

Well, she would just have to track him down when they made camp that night. She would tie him to a tree if need be to get things straight between them. She was eager to have her friend and confidant back. 

Walking at Brynn's side Nalia whispered, "So, Anomen seems to have been very friendly with you lately, is something going on between you two?" She nudged Brynn with an elbow and smiled slyly at her. "Come on, you can tell me, it's just us girls." 

Brynn blushed. "Nothing," she whispered back truthfully, "he told me that he... well, he told me how he felt about me, and I said I'd have to think about it." 

"Well, how _do_ you think about it?" Nalia persisted. 

Brynn blushed harder. "Hush you, it's none of your business!" she replied, playfully angry. 

Nalia sighed. "I should have known you'd be tightlipped about this sort of thing," she said. "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait and see like everyone else." 

Brynn rolled her eyes and laughed quietly. Nalia would be waiting for a while to find out what was going on unless Brynn somehow managed to figure out how to break the bad news to Anomen soon. As it was things were looking pretty sticky. 

*** 

They made camp as the sun began to set, setting up their tents and bedrolls in the shade of an enormous tree. Firewood was plentiful despite the fact that Jaheira -as usual- had insisted that they only use dead fall. With the weather cooling as fall got into swing it was pleasantly cool out, though back up at Candlekeep it still would have been considered midsummer weather. Mazzy had caught a pair of rabbits while they had been walking, and though he got a little teary eyed, Minsc spitted them and suspended them over the fire to cook. The rest of dinner was a combination of trail rations and various green leafy things Jaheira had managed to gather from the area. Jan supplied two turnips. Most of the actual cooking was done by Aerie, who was the only one among them who had a good idea of how to cook a real meal without messing up. 

After all the tents and bedrolls and such were set up and while dinner was being cooked, Brynn, and anyone else who was not busy with preparing the food, went to work on cleaning up their gear. Mostly Brynn spent her time shining her katanas until they sparkled like new in the light of the setting sun, but she also took a few moments to mend a few of her clothes that had gotten a little worn. Darning socks wasn't one of her virtues, but she could at least keep them wearable for a while longer. The grinding sound of stone on metal made by sharpening a sword with a whetstone was absent because by now everyone in the party had manage to acquire some sort of magical weapon, except Brynn that is, who refused on principle to use magical katanas and could do so practically because her training as a Kensai enabled her to imbue her weapons with her spirit when she fought. Besides which, her katanas had a great deal of sentimental value to her, they were good luck charms. It was no joke to say that a Kensai really became one with their sword, it was simple fact. After years of practice, training, and battling with her two weapons of choice Brynn had come to think of them as extensions of herself, almost alive, but not quite separate entities. The one she used in her left hand, given to her by her master, Touga, before he returned to Kara-Tur, felt as comfortable as a well worn pair of boots when she held it, the hilt molded through nearly a century of use before she acquired it to fit in her hand. In her right hand she held the weapon that she had discovered while poking around in some of the storage rooms in Candlekeep when she was nine. It had been hidden somewhere in a dusty box, stored away like some sort of museum piece that wouldn't fit in the display. She had felt a pull toward it even then, the sort of pull a salmon must feel toward the spring where it had been born. She didn't know if that meant she had been drawn to it because she was meant to wield it, or if her heritage manifesting even then, pulling her toward the path of destruction. Then again, she had been a child and very fond of pretty, shiny things, and it was by any standard a remarkably beautiful weapon. Near the hilt the blade was engraved with an dragon, not a normal dragon, but one of oriental design, long and sinuous with a mane and lion-like face. Even Touga had said that the craftsmanship was better than anything he had ever seen on a non-magical weapon, and he had been a damn hard man to impress. 

Near Brynn, Haer'Dalis hummed the refrain from his new ballad under his breath as he cleaned his own weapons, Chaos and Entropy, fitting names, Brynn thought, for the weapons of the tiefling bard, and not bad weapons, for short swords. "_...Her blades as bright as her shining hair,_" Haer'Dalis sang quietly. "Hmm... no that sounds odd, mayhap a change of words or tune..." he tried a couple of different melodies on for size. "Nay, it must be the words, some fault in meter or accent I think. Perhaps if I had the refrain be trochaic instead of iambic... no, that would throw the next stanza off all together." He let out a long sigh and put his swords away then left, probably to go puzzle out his poetic difficulties elsewhere. 

From behind her Brynn heard an all too familiar voice shout lustily, "You've really need to clean me, I like to _shine!_" 

"Boo says to shut up," Minsc said. "And so does Minsc!" 

Smiling Brynn turned around and saw Minsc taking a rag to Lilarcor, his talking sword. Finding _that_ particular piece of equipment had been a highly diverting side trip, once again putting Brynn into the city sewers. Not only had she come back with a talking sword, which she decided Minsc could best use, but she had also come back with a nasty cold. 

"Hey! Be gentle!" Lilarcor's grating voice rang out again. "You're getting stuff in my eyes." 

"You are a sword," Minsc said, to judge by his tone of voice a little disgusted with his weapon, "you don't have any eyes." 

"Well if I did they would be right where you were just unmercifully scrubbing, you dolt," Lilarcor responded. "What I need is a lady's touch. Hey Brynn, want to... polish... me?" 

Brynn laughed. She could all but see the sword winking at her with its nonexistent eyes. "No thanks, I don't go for animate inanimate objects." 

"Stop making passes at little Brynn, sword," Minsc said, "that is not right... even Boo says so, and he has an open mind for a hamster." 

"You might as well give up, Minsc," Brynn told the tall ranger. She stood up and sheathed her newly clean katanas. "Mmm, that food sure smells good... see you for dinner, Minsc." 

"Good-bye, sweet cheeks," Lilarcor called after her. 

"Stop that!" Minsc ordered severely. 

Brynn shook her head, chuckling quietly to herself. That sword was crazier by far than Minsc ever was, but then again a quality weapon was a quality weapon and nothing could beat the comic relief value of Lilarcor's battle cries, especially when combined with Minsc's. Every battlefield had the chance of becoming a chuckle hut when those two were there. It really threw enemies off. 

Mazzy was over by the fire, sitting on a log as she scrubbed the inside of her armor. Brynn crouched down beside the halfling woman and loosened up the laces of her boots. "Need a hand or two?" she asked. 

"No, I am almost finished, but thank you," Mazzy replied pleasantly. She did one last good scrub on her breastplate and tossed her rag to the ground. "After near on a tenday without a cleaning I dare say I would be willing to learn how you fight without armor if only to avoid the stink." 

"Yeah, but then your clothes would get all cut up," Brynn told her. "I lost so many shirts and trousers and stuff last year that I had a hard time keeping myself clothed." 

Mazzy laughed. "Indeed, that would be an... interesting situation to deal with." 

"Yeah, interesting," Brynn agreed, "but on the plus side it was _real_ distracting to my opponents. Remind me sometime when it's just the girls to tell you how I stormed the Iron Throne's tower in Baldur's Gate in my underwear. 

"Why when it is 'just us girls?'" Mazzy asked. 

"Because Minsc's face still gets all red whenever he's reminded about it, and let's just say it's not the sort of thing I want Haer'Dalis turning into a ballad," Brynn replied. 

Just then Aerie called out, "Okay, I think I'm done, you can come get your food now. I hope you like it, I'm not a very good cook." 

That was of course just Aerie's shy modesty. She was a damn good cook, and every hungry stomach around the campfire that night knew it. 

Minsc summed up everyone's feelings with a tremendous belch and the simple words, "More please." 

After every last scrap of edible goodness was in someone's stomach the members of the Blades of Honor turned in for the night. All except for two, that is. 

*** 

It was time for all creatures of the night to be up and about, and even thought the forest wasn't his natural environment, Yoshimo was a creature of the night. Which was why he was trying his best to sneak away from the camp and find a nice, solitary place to think. Besides which, he couldn't stand staying with the others, especially since Anomen was smiling a smugly confident smile as he slept. Yoshimo just knew what _he _was dreaming about. 

"Hey! Come with me would you?" 

Yoshimo froze in his tracks. He turned back to the campfire slowly and saw Brynn leaning against the trunk of a tall red pine. "Um..." he began. 

"Yeah, save your 'ums'," Brynn told him as she walked over to him. "Come on, we need to talk." She led him to a small clearing in the forest where the light from the full moon streamed down and brightened a roughly circular patch of the forest floor. 

As he expected Brynn got right down to business. "What in the world has gotten into you lately?" she demanded, her hands on her hips. "First you start disappearing at night, which didn't bother me too much, and then for some reason you go the idea that it would be a _good_ thing to work Anomen up into a frothing rage, which _did_." 

"Nothing is wrong," Yoshimo denied. Which was true, if having the woman you love fall for the resident mace-wielding justice obsessed knight could be considered nothing. 

"Nothing?" Brynn asked archly. "Nothing, huh? So trying to kill Anomen, or get killed _by_ Anomen is nothing? If I hadn't have gotten in the way one of you two would be a corpse right now and the other would be on my list of very bad people, something I'm sure you wouldn't like no matter which one you were. The two of you have been acting like bullheaded teenagers, and it's just a sign of how bad things are that _I'm_ the one saying that because one, I was the world's worst bullheaded teenager not too long ago and two, because both of you are older than me!" Brynn paused to catch her breath. "I don't know if this is a human thing, or a man thing, but either way I can't understand it, so I want the both of you to stop it." 

"This is a matter of honor, Brynn," Yoshimo said. 

"Gah!" Brynn exclaimed. "That's exactly what Anomen said last night when I talked to him! What is it about you two that makes you so unable to get along? Hell, I even got Aerie and Viconia to get along and they're practically natural enemies!" 

"The first words that rock-headed idiot said to me were that I was obviously incapable of taking care of you," Yoshimo replied, a sour taste in his mouth. 

"You're not supposed to take care of me!" Brynn said, exasperated. "_I'm _the daughter of the god here! I can damn well take care of myself!" 

"You are a woman, it is my job to protect you no matter how well you can protect yourself," he said. "It is the only honorable thing to do." 

"I hope you know that Anomen said that exact same thing too," Brynn told him coolly, "only he said it was part of chivalry. I honestly don't see how the two of you can _not_ get along! I'll be talking to one of you, and then go talk to the other and as if by some miracle the second with say nearly exactly what the first said. You two are practically mirror images!" 

"I am _nothing_ like that bastard!" Yoshimo argued hotly, offended by the association. How could she draw parallels between him and that arrogant, self-centered ass? They were as different as night and day! 

"Fine, have it your way, the two of you are nothing alike," Brynn relented angrily. "Just try to get along with him." 

"No," Yoshimo said, surprising himself by saying exactly what he felt. "I _hate_ him, and he hates me just the same. I have held back this long for your sake alone, Brynn, but if he crosses the line with me I will _not_ hold back again." 

"I don't want to see either of you dead, damn it!" Brynn yelled. She pounded her fists hard against his chest. "I don't want to wake up one morning to find that one of you has murdered the other in his sleep." 

Yoshimo grabbed her wrists. "I would rather die than see you in _his_ arms!" 

"What?" Brynn demanded. "Why? Do you hate him _that_ much?" 

"No! I love _you_ that much!" 

Yoshimo froze the instant he realized what he had said. How long had he kept that secret to himself? Months? It had felt like years, like centuries, but with the weight of that long guarded secret off his chest he felt ten years younger, and very afraid. 

"Oh, Yoshimo..." Brynn began softly. 

"No. Forget it, forget you spoke with me tonight," he told her quickly, hoping to salvage the situation somehow. "Forget it all." He let go of her and started back to the camp but she grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him. 

"How can you just tell me to forget?" she demanded to know. "I can't forget! I... I didn't even know! You should have said something... anything... " 

"What would that have done?" Yoshimo asked, his words coming out a little more harsh than he had intended. "The end would still be the same! It cannot be, so forget I said anything." 

Brynn's hand dropped away from his shoulder, and she said in a quavering voice, "All of this... all of it was because you _loved_ me? I'm so sorry, I... I didn't mean to hurt you... not ever. I never meant for you to be unhappy." 

Of course she didn't, which was why, despite his better judgment, Yoshimo couldn't seem to get her of his mind. "Please, just forget what I said," he told her, noting absently that he had resorted to pleading with her. 

"I..." she paused and looked up at him, the moonlight illuminating her delicate features. "I... can't _forget_," she murmured. "Forgetting would mean that I would go on being happy... and you would go on being unhappy. I can't do that, not to anybody, and especially not to you, not after all you've done for me, not after all the times you've been by my side just when I needed you." She was slowly moving closer and closer to him as she spoke, and her eyes kept him rooted where he stood. Time seemed to slow as she reached out and took his hand gently in her own. "You've been my friend since I lost Imoen and... and I..." her words trailed off and a fearful sort of confusion filled her eyes. With his whole heart Yoshimo wished she would stop looking at him like that. 

"I am sorry I even said anything," he murmured, pulling his hand out of her grasp. "Go back to the camp and get some sleep." If he was lucky she would wake up in the morning and think it was a dream. He turned away from her and started walking. He didn't know where he was going, he just knew that for the moment he didn't want to be near her for fear of more disastrous slips of the tongue. He didn't look back, not for a moment, the ground beneath his feet seeming to crumble away with every step. 

*** 

Brynn stood in stunned silence as Yoshimo walked away. She stared after him, wondering how in the world she could have never known how he felt. He had always sat and talked with her, kept her secrets, counseled her, allayed her doubts, and all the time she had missed it. She had never even considered thinking about him in _that_ way and she had just taken for granted that neither had he. 

What was she going to do? Her ignorance had hurt him, even if he pretended it hadn't, and it might well have cost her his friendship too. A shiver ran down the length of her spine at that thought. If she lost him she didn't know what she would do. The idea that she wouldn't be able to talk to him like always made her stomach go cold and a dull ache start up in her chest. Somewhere deep down inside her something trembled. She had to go make things right, she had to do something, she couldn't just let things go unresolved, not if it meant losing him 

She was running before she realized it. He hadn't gotten far, it was dark after all and unlike her he couldn't see in the dark. In seconds she caught up and called to him, "Wait!" Her knees felt like jelly and her heart was racing like she had run twenty miles, not twenty yards. 

Yoshimo turned around, expressionless except for the resigned look in his eyes. "Brynn, please..." 

"No!" she exclaimed hoarsely. "Don't tell me to forget, don't tell me you're sorry. I... I'm the one who should be sorry. It's my own fault I didn't know, and if I..." her throat tightened up and she swallowed hard, "if I lost you because of my stupidity..." Her voice failed her, the words just wouldn't come. Instead she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face against his chest, her eyes burning with the threat of tears. She could hear his heartbeat and feel the warmth of his skin through the soft cotton of his shirt. 

Yoshimo hesitated, as tense as a bow string, and then awkwardly put his arms around her. It felt good to be close to him, not just comforting, like when one of her other friends put a hand on her shoulder or patted her on the back, but like a deeply pleasant sort of good. A strange, and all together new thought flashed through her mind. The heavy feeling in her chest, the tingling that started in her belly and spread like wildfire, the way her skin seemed to burn where he was touching her, was that the spark she had been looking for? She had nothing in her experience to compare it to, nothing to tell her what was going on with her, with the both of them. The only thing she was sure of was that if she did love him she didn't want to let her chance go by without doing anything about it. 

She felt him bury his face in her hair, his warm breath prickling her scalp. "Brynn," he murmured, "Brynn... I should not be doing this." 

"Why? Why not? I don't understand!" 

He didn't answer for a very long time, and for a moment Brynn thought he would just go on holding her in silence. "Because this can only end badly," he said at last. 

"That's no answer!" she protested. She lifted her head and looked up into his eyes, trembling a little as her nose bumped against his chin. "I'm so confused... I don't know what to think," she said. "You say you love me and then tell me to forget it, and I don't even know how I feel except that I've never felt this mixed up in my life! I like this, I like you and I like being near you, and I worry about you when you're away, and I can't help wondering if I've missed something, and if I'll miss something more if I just walk away and pretend this never happened." Yoshimo looked like he might say something, but Brynn continued on in a softer voice, "And the only reason I can think of that... that you and I would end badly is because of what I am. You're the one who stuck by me always, even when I tried to make you leave, and you always told me that my fate was my own to decide. Maybe... maybe things would go wrong, but I don't want to go through life not knowing if we were doomed from the start or if I lost my chance at love because I was scared." She stopped, not knowing what to say anymore. She was full of words and nervous energy, but she couldn't collect them into a coherent thought. 

For his part Yoshimo didn't look much better off. His brow was furrowed and his eyes were distant, as if he were fighting some desperate inner battle of the mind and heart. He loosened his hold on her and brought on hand to her cheek. He flinched as his fingers touched her skin, but he didn't pull away and slowly he lowered his lips to hers and placed on them a kiss. She kissed him back with sort of clumsy and inexperienced, but genuine, passion. The confusion that she had been feeling melted away, and she knew that this was where she belonged. 

*** 

To Be Continued 

*** 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

A/N: Wee! Good heavens, folks, I'm so flogged after finishing this that I just didn't have the strength to bring back your usual author's note reader to give you the news. Writing mushy stuff takes the steel out of my spine and leaves me feeling gloppy. I much, _much_ prefer battle scenes, there the only thing characters feel is the strong urge to survive. So anyway, if things seem out of whack compared to the rest of the story you now know why, but hopefully I didn't do _to_ badly. 

Blue 


	9. Dragon Slayer

*** 

Chapter 9: 

Dragon Slayer 

*** 

In the world there were three things Brynn detested above all else, spiders, the undead, and evil dragons, and at the moment she just so happened to be in the middle of a decrepit ruin of an old palace that had all three of those things. She found out the hard way that Lord Jierdan Firkraag was a duplicitous dirt bag when not long after she entered the Windspear Hills she was attacked by a band of what had _looked_ like monsters. She had known something was wrong when the monsters' leader, who counted a couple of ogres and a wyvern among his number, spoke in perfectly clear common -no nasty grunts, growls or anything- called _her_ a monster and attacked. Brynn and the others were forced to kill the monsters before there was a chance to clear things up. It was only after the monsters lay dead on the rocky hillside trail that their forms wavered and their true identities were revealed. Brynn had gasped when she saw six paladins of the Order sprawled dead across the ground. All the blood had drained from her face when she recognized on of the man disguised as the monsters' leader as Adjantis, whom she had traveled with for a short while up near Baldur's Gate. Though they had gone their separate ways she had counted him as a friend, and now tricked by an illusion, she had killed him. 

Heartsick and in shock, she had welcomed the help of the true ruler of Windspear Hills, Garren Windspear. Firkraag had been harassing Garren for years, slowly ruining him, and apparently the disguised paladins had been another part of Firkraag's cruelty. Sorry that his personal troubles had come to involve the Blades, Garren offered to see if he could make things right with the Order, and grateful, Brynn had accepted. She and the others were left to their own devices in Garren's small cabin in the company of his son. Things would have been fine had Firkraag been content with the damage he had already done, but before Garren had a chance to leave Firkraag sent a party of kidnappers to capture Garren's son. 

To save the boy, the Blades had fought through the crumbling ruins of the palace of King Strohm III, battling orcs, undead, and various other nasty things and finally to Firkraag himself, only to find that their battle was far from over. Firkraag had hidden far more than his intentions when he had enlisted the Blades to help him. 

Now, her veins feeling full of ice water, Brynn stared up in horror at the sight of Firkraag's true form: a colossal red dragon. On a stone pedestal behind Firkraag, almost hidden by his impressive bulk, was the key to the cell that held Garren's son. There was no way to the key except through Firkraag, and no way Brynn could in good conscience return to Garren without the boy. Still, she trembled at the thought of facing another dragon, this one more powerful than the one she had battled at the shadow temple. 

She put on her best game face, pretending to be braver than she felt and unsheathed her katanas. "So, Firkraag, it's your choice," she said in a commanding voice, "give me the key and allow me to leave with Garren's son or die." Behind her she heard her the others ready their own weapons or read themselves for spell casting. She swallowed hard and trained a steely gaze on one of Firkraag's enormous eyes. 

Laughing, Firkraag said, "You are fool enough to fight _me_?" he demanded derisively. "Fine then, if you want to die I will be glad to fulfill your wish!" He roared, the sound echoing all throughout his cavernous lair, and the battle began. 

Brynn, Minsc and Mazzy all charged forward, while Aerie, Nalia, Anomen, Jaheira and Haer'Dalis readied spells and Yoshimo took aim with his bow. At the same time Firkraag began to cast his own spells, improving his already nearly impenetrable armor and countering some of the defensive spells Aerie and the others were casting. An arrow zinged overhead and stuck between two of the thick scales on Firkraag's chest, meanwhile Brynn, dodged in and out between the dragon's thick, scaly legs, trying desperately to find a chink in his armor through which she could piece his vitals. She wasn't having much luck, and neither were Minsc and Mazzy. It was looking Yoshimo's arrow had found the only opening, and it hadn't gotten deep enough to do more than irritate Firkraag a little bit. 

"Silly little creatures!" Firkraag crowed confidently. "I will tear you to shreds!" He did his best to make that threat a reality by reaching down past his front legs and snapping at Brynn with his terrible jaws. 

Brynn dodged just in time, and brought her blades down on Firkraag's armored nose, surprising him more than hurting him. At the same time a rain of holy fire came down from the air, courtesy of Anomen's spell casting. It washed harmlessly over Brynn, Minsc and Mazzy, and unfortunately it failed to harm Firkraag as well until a few moments later when Haer'Dalis' spell caught the dragon and stripped him of his magical protection. Then Firkraag howled in pain for a moment before spreading his wings wide and pushing Brynn, Minsc, and Mazzy across the stone floor all the way back to their with the mighty gust of air he stirred up. Her head ringing and her vision spotted with red and black from a blow to the head she had sustained as she slid across the ground, Brynn dimly saw Firkraag open his jaws wide and breath a cone of fire at her and the others. She stumbled to her feet and jumped out of the way of the blast, hoping everyone else was able to do the same. 

The heat from the dragon's flame dissipated and Brynn saw Jaheira and Anomen crouched down, their shields held out before them protecting Nalia and Aerie from the fire. Haer'Dalis had managed to scoop of Mazzy, who had been knocked unconscious when she was thrown her across the cavern, and had gotten out of the way of the flame just in time. Minsc had also managed to dodge, though his armor was looking a touch singed. Yoshimo, already out of range of the dragon's flame breath had manage to get off another shot at Firkraag, this one sticking into the soft flesh in the roof of Firkraag's mouth before he had managed to close it again. 

Brynn concentrated for a second and used the healing power she had gained not long after she had left Candlekeep to make her head stop aching, and then attacked again before Firkraag could recharge and breath another blast of fire again. Minsc and Jaheira joined her soon after while Anomen worked to restore Mazzy to consciousness and Haer'Dalis, Nalia and Aerie cast another volley of spells, between them sending over a dozen balls of magical energy burning into Firkraag's scales. Brynn slashed her right-hand katana across on of the scales weakened by the magical attack, managing to draw blood, but not much more. Firkraag retaliated by snapping at her again, almost catching her right arm in his teeth. She managed to bring her blade back up in time to jab it into the roof of his mouth, making him jerk his head back. 

Despite all the minor hits she and the others had scored Firkraag was still going strong, and was faring far better than the Blades, who had at least one party member down for the moment and two or three who were singed by the dragon's breath. 

Firkraag prepared to use his wings to send another gush of air out and throw Brynn, Jaheira and Minsc across the room again, but as he brought his wings down Yoshimo shot an arrow through the relatively unprotected skin of his right wing, ripping a hole in it. A second arrow, this one Mazzy's -she on her feet again thanks to Anomen- shot through the air and ripped through the other wing. Firkraag snarled and growled, and using his teeth snapped the offending arrows in two and pulled them out of his flesh. Taking the opportunity afforded by his distraction Jaheira smashed her club, Blackblood, into Firkraag's front right leg. The acid on the club's thorns ate away at the scales it hit, and Jaheira's second blow struck the tender skin beneath. 

"Enough is enough!" Firkraag roared, furious. "You pests are too much trouble to me!" Beating his wings furiously he sent Brynn, Jaheira and Minsc flying through the air once more and then charged forward. 

Brynn slammed against the stone steps that led into the lair, her whole body going numb for an instant before something that felt like a tree trunk catch her in the ribs and throw her into one of the cavern's walls. Her breath was crushed out of her lungs with the force of the impact and a terrible pain ripped through her as she felt the bones in her right arm and her rib cage snap like dry twigs. She could hear the shouts of her friends as they tried to gather themselves together for another attack, but she couldn't focus. The pain was so bad she felt sick to her stomach and she just wanted to lay there against the stones until she fell unconscious. She made herself get to her feet though, gritting her teeth against the agony she was feeling. It was fight or die, and Brynn wasn't about to just give up and die. She exhausted the last of her healing power to stabilize herself and ease the pain. Her vision cleared marginally, but her left arm remained unusable because it hurt too much to move it. 

Chaos reigned in the cavern. Jaheira had somehow managed to dodge the dragon's tail -that's what Brynn assumed that tree-trunk like thing that had slammed into her was- and was all but unharmed, Minsc and Mazzy, protected by their armor, were also on their feet and relatively all right, though Minsc was favoring his right leg a little as he went in and attacked Firkraag again. Aerie was crouched over the prone Nalia, healing her, and Anomen was similarly crouched over Haer'Dalis. The only one she didn't see was Yoshimo. 

Frantic, she scanned the cavern, and spotted him lying slumped against the far wall. All the feeling drain out of her body for a moment before panic took over. Half-running, half-stumbling she crossed the cavern, screaming silently for him to get up. Aloud she shouted, "Jaheira! Help!" 

She fell to her knees, sending a jolt of pain through her whole left side, as soon as she got over to Yoshimo. Her insides went cold as she looked him over, noting with a sick feeling that though he was breathing, each breath was short and shallow. White bone showed through his skin where his leg had been shattered and his right arm was bent and an unnatural angle. 

She felt a hard lump forming in her throat, and a terrible hate began to burn in her chest. There was no way Yoshimo would die, that much was certain of, even if only for as illogical reason as that she simply didn't want to think of what she would do if she lost him. However, for hurting him Firkraag _was_ going to die, and she was going to be the one to make sure of that. 

She stood up as soon as Jaheira reached her. "Help him," she said. 

"You are hurt Brynn..." Jaheira began. 

"He's hurt more!" Brynn snapped, clenching her good hand around her katana's hilt. "I'll be fine!" Which was true enough. Anger made her pain fade, determination made what she could still feel endurable. Firkraag was going to die. A feral shout escaped her lips and she charged. 

Before Firkraag could react to her attack she drove her katana deep into the muscle of his foreleg, piercing right through his scales, and using the blade as a hand hold she swung herself up onto his back. Firkraag bellowed in pain as she stabbed the blade in and again as she pulled it out, and he jerked around wildly as he tried to dislodge her from his back, but Brynn stayed on, plunging her katana into his flesh again and holding tight to the blade until she regained her balance. Firkraag swung his mighty head around and tried to catch her with his jaws, but Brynn dodge his teeth and leapt directly onto the top of his snout, straddling it. 

She looked directly into his red eyes as he tried to shake her off or bite her legs without any success, and her lips pulled back, showing her own teeth as she shouted, "Time to die, Firkraag!" She raised her arm back and thrust her blade up to the hilt into one red eye and twisted it in a full circle. Firkraag bellowed again, the sound rising to a terrible keening as Brynn's katana drove into his brain, and then as Firkraag died, his death cry died away too. Brynn had just enough time to pull her blade out of the dragon's eye socket before he crashed to the ground, tossing her against the stone. 

She felt more of her ribs shatter as she struck the ground, but she didn't particularly care. She closed her eyes against the pain and got to her feet. She coughed and tasted blood on her tongue as she walked unsteadily over to where Jaheira knelt over Yoshimo. "Dragon's dead," she said, leaning against the stone wall and using it to support her as she sat down. "He okay?" 

Jaheira looked at her, frowning. "Yes, he is fine for now, just resting," she answered. She gave Brynn a good once over, "But you are not fine. Lie down and let me heal you." 

Brynn felt tired, more tired than ever before in her life. The pain in her ribs threatened to overwhelm her, and she said weakly, "Yeah... I think I will..." and then blackness took her. 

*** 

After regaining consciousness and rescuing Garren's son from his cell -not to mention looting Firkraag's impressive hoard- the Blades returned, a little woozy, but triumphant to Garren's small cabin, toting Firkraag's hideous head as a trophy and enough red dragon scales to make suit of armor. Grateful, Garren invited them to stay the night, though it might be a little cozy, and Brynn accepted the invitation with a smile that showed just how relieved she was to be able to rest inside a nice warm house. They were treated to a heroes feast of pheasant, wild vegetables, and an old bottle of wine Garren had kept around, and on with their stomachs pleasantly full, turned in for the night before the sun had even fully set, so exhausted that their eyes closed moments after their heads hit their pillows. 

All except for two of them, that is. Sitting out on a rock ledge overlooking a small, clear pool, Yoshimo and Brynn watched the last of the sun's light make the sky turn crimson and then midnight blue as the stars came out. For the most part they sat talking quietly, each glad to have the other's company and to be able to spend time alone. It was best, they had decided, to be discreet until she found a way to deal with Anomen, and they were pretty successful, no one had even guessed yet. Well, except for Haer'Dalis who had spent the last two days of the trek to Windspear Hills winking slyly at Yoshimo and singing bawdy songs under his breath. 

It wasn't easy to act like nothing had happened at least not for Brynn, who up until three days ago had labeled everyone she met in one of three ways: 'friend', 'enemy' and 'other'. Most people fell into one of the first two categories, and to her the line between them was clear, though she could move a person from one category to another in a split second if she deemed it necessary. The 'other' category was reserved for people she couldn't decide on, but she hadn't met too many people like that in her life, and so she could count on one hand the people who fell under that heading. Whatever their status Brynn was always forthright in making sure the people she met knew what their label was, unless drastic situations made her act otherwise. Any enemy of hers knew that he was her enemy until her blades made sure he knew no more, any friend of hers knew he was her friend from the moment she first proclaimed it and everyone else knew it too. Now, however, she had a brand new category: 'beloved', which had Yoshimo as its lone member, and she was finding that pretending he fell into the 'friend' category was difficult, if not damn near impossible. Yoshimo on the other hand seemed to be faring better, having had practice in keeping his true feelings hidden, and he was content for the time just to be able to admit to Brynn how much he cared about her after months of silence. 

Brynn snuggled up against him, pressing her cheek against the hallow of his shoulder and let out a contented sigh as he slip an arm around his slender waist. "You know," she said softly, "when I saw you lying there after the dragon knocked you out I felt my heart stop for a second. Nothing else seemed to matter right then. Gods, I was so afraid." 

Yoshimo squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "But look, we are both alive and well now, you and I, so there is no reason to dwell on it," he told her. 

Brynn shrugged. "I know, but it's hard not to dwell. I've only had three days with you like this, not even that because we can't let everyone know about us yet, and... well, I don't know _what_ I'm trying to say exactly, but I wanted to tell you how I felt right then." 

Chuckling a little Yoshimo said, "I think I understand. Don't worry about the past, it is gone and we have a present to live in." 

"What about the future?" Brynn asked. "Do we worry about that?" 

Yoshimo paused thoughtfully. "No," he said. "We have all day long to worry about the future, _aijin_, so we need not trouble ourselves with it now." 

"Mm," Brynn agreed, "I like that, and I like _'aijin' _too." 

He looked down at her with a curious expression. "You know what it means?" he asked. 

Brynn nodded. "It means 'beloved' or 'darling,'" she said. 

Yoshimo gave her a bemused smile. "Where did you learn to speak the language of Kozakura and Wa? I was not aware that many westerners knew it." 

"Oh, they don't," Brynn said, "but Master Touga taught me in exchange for my teaching him how to read and write in common. I'm a little rusty, but when I was younger I was quite fluent. Gorion always said I was a natural with languages." 

"You had the accent right," Yoshimo agreed. "Most foreigners mangle even the simple words." 

"Master Touga used to have a fit if I messed up," Brynn said with a smile. She sighed again and reluctantly pulled out of his grasp. "But enough about languages, the past, the future and all of that. It's getting late and we should probably be getting some rest if we want to get an early start tomorrow." 

Yoshimo echoed her sigh and stood up, offering a hand to her to help her up. "I suppose you are correct," he admitted. 

Brynn stood up, keeping his hand clasped in hers as they walked toward the cabin, only letting go after they got close. "Come on, _Watashi no aijin,_ this dragon slayer needs her rest." 

To Be Continued 

*** 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

The dark stage lights up and into the spot light walks everyone's favorite grouchy message girl, Chryseis de Curion. She pulls a sheet of paper out of her cloak and smoothes it before she turns to you, the audience, and says, "Yeah, I'm back. For a minute there I though I was free of this hell, but _nooo_, Blue has to bring me back." She rolls her eyes. "So anyway, Blue writes: 

__

_'Dear Readers,_

__

_I seem to have recovered from my bout of mush-induced tiredness, and I'm back with a vengeance! Some content notes: 'aijin' and 'watashi no aijin' are Japanese, and they mean respectively (unless I translated incorrectly or my Japanese-English dictionary was lying to me) 'beloved' and 'my beloved'. I chose Japanese after a little planning a research. Since Yoshimo is from Kara-Tur, the oriental setting for the Forgotten Realms he would either have spoken the languages of their China-equivalent countries, Tibet-equivalent countries, or their Japan-equivalent countries. I narrowed that down to Kozakura and Wa (Japan-equivalents) because his name sounds more Japanese than Chinese or something, and so decided that any endearments he might use ought to be in Japanese. On a side note I also chose the names of both Brynn's sword master and Yoshimo's bounty hunter mentor so that they meant something in Japanese, more or less just because I was short on good oriental names. Anyway, that's about all I have to say for now, keep in touch and all that jazz._

__

_Thanks_

_The Blue Sorceress'_

Chryseis frowns and crumples up the paper. "I hate this," she mutters as she walks off the stage. The lights go out and she says a little louder, "I really, really, _hate _this!" 


	10. Jealosy, Revenge and the Bonds of Friend...

*** 

Chapter 10: 

Jealousy, Revenge and the Bonds of Friendship 

*** 

Things were quiet in Athkatla, a little too quiet for Brynn's tastes. She couldn't get the gold she needed together unless there was some sort of trouble going on, the sort that people could pay her good money to prevent. A good portion of the gold retrieved from Firkraag's hoard had gone to getting the dragon scales made into armor for Minsc and almost all the rest of it had gone to repairing the dikes at the De'Arnise keep and compensating the farmers on the keep lands for their lost crops and property after a recent flood. Such were the trials and tribulations of adventuring; most of what was earned went to cover costs, get better equipment -a necessity, Brynn had discovered quickly enough- and to pay for all sorts of other unforeseen expenses, and whatever was left was generally only a fraction of the take. 

There were good things about lulls between missions and quests though too. For one thing it gave her a chance to get a bath, something she missed terribly when she was out on the trail or crawling through a decrepit ruin, and for another it gave her a chance to relax, socialize, and resolve any unresolved issues that might have come up. 

Anomen, for instance, he was one huge tangle of unresolved issues on legs. If ever a more confused young man had walked the face of the world Brynn would have been surprised. She felt sorry for him and she wanted to help him because he was her friend, and she sort of looked at him like the brother she'd never had when she was kid. The trouble was he was smitten with her and she had no clue how to tell him she didn't feel the same way. She _had_ to tell him though, and it had to been done in a way that kept her from further unraveling the delicate balance that was his sanity. 

Brynn mulled over her problems over a mug of ale at the Copper's bar one night a week after they had gotten back from Windspear Hills, and as luck would have it, she spotted Anomen as he went up to headquarters. Since it was still pretty early everyone else was still down in the common room, joking, telling stories, and in Haer'Dalis' case, flirting with the pretty girls. It was the perfect chance to deal with her Anomen issues while no one else was around. 

"Put the ale on our tab, Bernard," she told the Copper's portly bartender. 

Bernard nodded amiably, he really was nice guy, and Brynn slid off her stool and went upstairs., shutting the door quietly behind her. 

"Good evening, my lady," Anomen said from his seat at the table in the center of the main room. "How has your day been?" 

Brynn shrugged. "A little dull, but otherwise okay. I'm really glad we were able to clear things up with the Order after what happened out at Windspear Hills." 

"Aye," Anomen agreed heartily, "so am I." 

Brynn stood awkwardly for a moment before she sat down across from him at the table. "Listen, Anomen, we've really got to talk," she said. "About you and me." 

Anomen's eyes lit up. "Ah yes, my lady. I have been longing to speak with you as well. Mayhap before I seemed most urgent in my admission to you. So eager was I to get my feelings off my chest that I fear I may have put pressure on you to decide quickly. Let me assure you now that I meant to do no such thing. Please, take as long as you wish." 

Brynn winced inwardly. "Oh... I don't need anymore time," she said. "I've um... come to a decision." 

"You have?" Anomen spoke up eagerly. He looked so excited that Brynn hardly had the heart to squash his hopes. 

"Yes, I have," she told him. Knowing that there was no backing out now she pushed onward. "I've been thinking about this a lot, and I just don't feel the same way about you. I love you dearly, Anomen, but more as a brother and as a friend." Brynn watched with morbid fascination as the high hopes in Anomen's eyes crashed to the ground like a gnomish flying machine. 

"Oh," he said quietly. "I see..." He hesitated before saying, "May I ask why? Is there aught I can do to change your mind?" 

Brynn shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, Anomen, but you and I... well, it just wouldn't have worked." She looked at him apologetically, praying that he would understand what she was saying to him. "You and I are guided by two separate principles. You live your life for the Order, that's where your dreams have always lain, and that's where they always will lie. On the other hand, I... well, I don't work like that. I can't dedicate my life to something as concrete as the Order or the law like you. I'm a follower of abstracts and ideals. If it were a simple thing then I probably could have loved you like you want me too, but..." 

"My lady, things change," Anomen protested earnestly, "one day you may be able to give your life to something concrete..." he paused uncertainly, "...or I might be able to follow your abstract ideals." He seemed to throw that last in to help persuade her. 

"I won't Anomen," Brynn said firmly. "I have to be honest with you and tell you that I think blindly following the law is... well, as likely to do as much, if not more, evil as good, and I can't sit by and say 'well that's the law' if the law is hurting good people. There's no way you can persuade me to your way of thinking, and no way I can persuade you to mine. I wouldn't want to. If either one of us changed for the other we would both be unhappy, you must know that." She looked at him and saw a flicker of understanding, but not much more. She knew that deep down he must know what she meant, he just had to. 

"I... I do not know what to say," Anomen murmured, his voice a little tight. "There is... no... chance that you will change your mind?" 

Brynn shook her head again. "I'm sorry, Anomen, but there just isn't. We're just not right for each other, you and I." 

"I see," Anomen said shortly. He stood up. "Well... goodnight, my lady, I... I will see you in the morning." And with that he turned away and went back to his quarters, his gait stiff and his shoulders a little slumped. 

Brynn watched after him, feeling like at the same time a terrible weight had been lifted off her shoulders a new one had been put on. She sighed and slumped forward on the table, leaning her head in her hands. "I hate this," she muttered into her palms. "Gods and stars do I hate it." 

"Hate what?" Yoshimo asked, coming up behind her and placing his hand on her shoulders. 

Brynn sighed. "I just talked to Anomen," she replied. "Poor guy looked like I ripped his heart out of his chest and stomped on it right there in front of him." 

"Took it well did he?" Yoshimo asked, a little sarcastic. 

"Hush you," Brynn told him, reaching up and lacing her fingers in his. "I just wish things weren't so damn complicated, you know?" She stood up and turned around to face him, scooting the chair out of her way with one foot. "I'd like it if I didn't have to worry about stuff and it could be just you and me for a while... a long while." 

Yoshimo squeezed her hands gently and nodded. "As would I." 

*** 

The next afternoon, while the Blades discussed their plans for looking for work for the rest of the week, a messenger arrived bearing a letter for Anomen from the council building. Brynn watched as he carefully pealed off the wax seal and as he read she saw his face turn white as a sheet, then red with anger. He clenched his hands into a fist, crumpling the paper and then threw the letter to the ground. There was something in his eyes, a fire, a hate, that Brynn had never seen before. 

"What's wrong?" she asked cautiously. 

Anomen seethed for a moment before he said in a tight voice, "My father is dead. Saerk killed him." 

"Oh no," Aerie whispered. 

"What happened?" Mazzy inquired. 

Again it took Anomen a moment to collect himself before he could answer. "New evidence was discovered linking Saerk to my sister's murder. My father went to avenge her." Quietly he added, "As I should have done months ago." 

"This is terrible news," Minsc said sympathetically. "Boo weeps for your loss." 

"Shut up you _imbecile_," Anomen roared. 

"Calm down!" Brynn insisted, getting out of her seat. "Lashing out at Minsc isn't going to help." 

"Indeed it will not," Anomen agreed coldly, not looking in her eyes. He left the table, went back to his room and not long after returned with his mace in hand and his sling tucked into his belt. 

"What do you intend to do?" Jaheira asked. The rest of the Blades stood up and the room was filled with the sound of wooden chairs scraping against wooden flooring. 

"I intend to do my duty," Anomen answered, heading toward the door. 

It didn't take more than a moment for Brynn to put two and two together. "No, Anomen, you can't!" she protested. 

"So you told me before," Anomen bit out. "You also said that the law would take care of Saerk, but that was not the case, was it? I should not have listened to you. Then Saerk would already be dead and my father would still be alive!" 

"You hated your father!" Brynn snapped. "You said often enough that he was a worthless man, a drunkard who tried to ruin your life. Why are you going out to avenge him _now_?" 

"Because it is what I should have done before! Get out of my way!" Anomen pushed past her and tried to open up the door, but Brynn pushed her hand against it and slammed it shut again. 

"No," she said shortly. "I'm not going to let you do this Anomen." 

"I said get out of my way," Anomen growled through clenched teeth. He tried to push past her again. 

"I said I'm not going to let you do this and I mean it, Anomen," Brynn told him again, standing firmly in his way. 

"Who are you to stop me?" 

"I'm your friend you moron! I'm not going to let you ruin your life!" 

"How dare you pretend to care now!" Anomen raged, his face contorted with anger. "You reject my love, and now you say you do not want to see me ruin my life? That has already been done. By you, _my lady!_" 

Brynn's eyes went wide for a moment before they narrowed down, sparkling blue between her dark lashes. She drew back her fist and punched Anomen square in the face, making his stagger backwards for a moment. Brynn knew she was small, but she was far from frail and she packed a real wallop when she wanted to. "How dare _you_ say that I don't care? How _dare_ you? I care more about you that you yourself do right now! I may not be able to love you like you want me to, but I'll be damned if I don't care!" She glared, as furious with him as he was with her. "If I didn't care I'd let you go and kill Saerk, but you're my friend, and I even if it means knocking your head against the wall and locking you in your room I'm going to make sure you don't do anything stupid!" 

"You think _I _am being stupid?" Anomen demanded, rubbing his nose gently and glaring daggers at her above his hand. "_I_ am doing my duty!" 

"Your duty?" Brynn said, rounding on him. "What about your duty to the Order? Or have you forgotten that already?" 

Anomen's face fell for a moment. "I have _not_ forgotten," he said firmly. 

"Oh? Then what the _hell_ do you think you're going to do?" Brynn demanded. She continued on before she got an answer. "Let me tell you something, you hotheaded, self-righteous buffoon, if you go out now and 'avenge' your family you'll destroy more than Saerk, you'll destroy yourself. What good will your _vengeance_ do you when the Order has stripped you of your knighthood?" 

"I do not know!" Anomen shouted. "Nor do I care! Something _has _to be done, justice has to be served." 

"Well fine then," Brynn replied, cold as ice, "but if you want to kill Saerk you're going to have to kill me first. He may not be an innocent man but vengeance is _not_ justice, and I'm _not_ going to let you have it!" 

Anomen seemed staggered, and Brynn hoped she was getting to him. "My lady I... I could never harm you..." 

"What the hell do you think you're doing right now?" Brynn asked sharply. "You're my friend Anomen, I don't know how many times I have to say it to get it through your thick head but you are. I can no more let you do this than I could Minsc, or Jaheira, or Yoshimo. If you go and kill Saerk you might as well me too, because _I'll_ have to live with his death on my conscience for the rest of my life because _I_ _couldn't stop you_." She looked at him imploringly. "Don't do this to yourself, Anomen, and don't do it to me either." 

Anomen's grip on his mace loosened and it slipped from his fingers to crash loudly into the wooden floor. He sat down heavily on one of the vacated chairs, his face contorted with pain, loss, and guilt. "I... I am sorry, my lady," he murmured. 

Brynn gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry too, Anomen." 

Nalia came over and put an arm around Anomen's shoulders. "Come on," she said gently. "Why don't we go talk for a while? I can't say I know how you feel, but I'll listen to you if you like." 

"Aye... I would like that," Anomen replied a little absently. Nalia guided him back to his room, shooting a look of concern to Brynn, who gave her a grateful smile in return, and mouthed, 'thank you' to her. 

Silence reigned in the room for a while after Nalia and Anomen left, and then Jaheira sighed loudly and said, "Well, that was certainly interesting. You did well though, Brynn, you were more patient with him than I would have been." 

"You have a nice right hook as well," Haer'Dalis commented. 

Brynn exhaled slowly and sat down in a chair, her knees feeling like jelly. "Thank you," she said, feeling a little worn out. "Poor guy, when it rains with him it _pours_. Why don't you guys see about poking around town for a while? Nalia will probably stay here with Anomen, but there's no reason why the rest of us can't see about getting something accomplished." 

The others nodded quietly, and after gathering their gear together, left the headquarters and the inn. Brynn caught Yoshimo by the arm before he left. 

"I want you to come with me on a special errand," she said quietly. 

"Oh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yeah," she replied. "We're going to pay a visit to Renal Bloodscalp and get a little information. This time I'm going to make sure Saerk can't come back to haunt us." 

Yoshimo smiled slowly and nodded. "You grow ever more devious, _aijin_," he said. 

"Thank you," Brynn said. "People like Saerk need to know what happens when they mess with the Blades, and more importantly, when the mess with _my_ friends." 

*** 

Brynn ducked inside the badly lit bridge district tavern, the Silver Sword, and looked around. Behind her Yoshimo closed the door and she could hear him put a hand on the hilt of his katana. The Sword was a rat hole if there ever was one. The low ceiling was obscured by smoke that rose up from the table candles and the tavern patrons' pipes. Aside from the smoke the air was filled with the constant din of conversation as the less than savory men and women shouted threats of death and promises of things that made Brynn's ears turn red. At the far side of the room, almost invisible behind the crowd of street toughs and tabacco smoke, were a group of six men at a table near the bar, all wearing a red band tied around their left biceps. Brynn nodded her head toward them and she and Yoshimo made their way through the sea of people, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. 

One of the men called out as they came near, "If it ain't little miss goody-two-shoes Trueblade," he laughed at his own joke and his cohorts followed. "Whatcha doin' in the Sword? Lookin' for a _real_ man? Slanty-eyes over there can't do a lady like you right 'tween the sheets." The man and his lackeys laughed again. 

Brynn smiled coldly. "Are you the Blood Red Band?" she asked. 

The man grunted an affirmative. "Yeah, that's us. Name's Beckt Grunheld and these is my merry men. Whatcha want with us?" 

"I hear that a few months back you were hired by a fellow by the name of Saerk to rob a house." 

"Ain't never heard of the guy," Grunheld replied, leaning back in his chair and grinning. He was missing four teeth, one on the top and three on the bottom. 

"Oh, but my sources say you have," Brynn persisted. 

"Well they say wrong then," Grunheld snapped. He sat up straight. "We don' welcome your goody-goody attitude here in the Sword," he said threateningly. "Maybe you should just get outta here before we gut you." 

"Maybe you should answer the lady's questions," Yoshimo said, drawing his katana half way. "I would hate to have to dirty my blade with your blood. The taint of stupidity and incompetence would be hard to wash out." 

"Shut up your damn dog, Truebitch," Grunheld growled. "I said you're not welcome here, so get out or I'll make you get out." He stood up and went for his sword, but Brynn was far quicker. In the blink of an eye she had both of her katanas out and had cut through the ratty leather belt that held up Grunheld's trousers. Grunheld tried to catch his pants, but his sword got in the way and left him with his trousers around his ankles. 

Brynn suddenly noticed three things. One, the rest of the Blood Red Band had gotten up and drawn their weapons. Two, that the whole tavern was silent, their pints going unnoticed halfway to their lips. And three, Grunheld didn't wear underwear, nor was he the most... hygienic man. "Tell your men to drop their weapons or the next thing you lose will be the family jewels," she ordered. 

"Hey, uh, you heard the lady," Grunheld said nervously. "Put 'em down." The rest of the Band dropped their weapons on the ground, making a loud clattering sound that echoed through out the quiet tavern. 

"Now," Brynn continued, "You'll answer me _truthfully_. Did Saerk hire you to rob the Delryn's home?" 

Grunheld nodded. "Yeah... yeah, he wanted that Delryn guy to get the heavy end of the hammer, but he wasn't at home. Out gettin' drunk or somethin'." He went on frantically. "We didn' know that the girl was goin' to be there..." 

Brynn frowned. "Scum," she hissed. "Which one of you lowlife bastards killed the girl?" 

"Wasn't any of us," Grunheld protested. "Saerk came with us, wanted to kill Delryn himself, but since Delryn wasn't there he killed the girl instead, said it was 'good enough'." 

"Grab your damn pants, asshole," Brynn ordered. She kept an eye on Grunheld's men as Grunheld snatched for his trousers and pulled them up. "All right, you dirt bags are coming with us." 

"Where?" Grunheld asked, holding his trousers up with one hand. 

"To the council building. You're going to tell the guards what you just told me." 

"We ain't goin' to do that!" one of the men protested. "We'll get put in prison!" 

"That's the idea," Brynn said evenly. "But then again so will Saerk. Who knows, maybe they'll go easy on you since you turned yourselves in." 

"We ain't goin' to do that!" Grunheld said, echoing the other man. 

Brynn snarled and lashed out, bringing her blades down on the table the men had been sitting at. The table was cut cleanly in two before the men could even flinch. "You're coming with me to the council building, or next time that will by one of your skulls instead of a table, got that?" 

The Blood Red Band made a collective noise of terror and then in utter silence as Brynn bound their hands and she and Yoshimo led them to the government district. 

"Quite the show," Yoshimo said confidentially as they walked. 

"What?" Brynn asked. "The pants or the table?" 

Yoshimo shrugged. "Both, though the table was less... disgusting." 

Brynn chuckled. "True enough," she agreed. "I wish he had tried something though, just so I could maybe slice his hand off." 

Yoshimo looked at her with a curious expression. "You must be angry indeed," he said. 

"Yeah, well these bastards just stood there and watched while Saerk killed an innocent girl, and in doing so nearly ruined Anomen's life. They don't get any mercy from me. Nobody messes with my friends and gets away without being punished." She turned to the six tied men that followed obediently behind her. "Isn't that right?" she asked. 

The men made another collective noise of terror and nodded emphatically. 

Brynn laughed. "Come on, we may not get gold for this, but the look on Saerk's face when they put him in a cell is all the reward I'm going to need." 

*** 

To Be Continued 

*** 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

The stage lights are already up and your favorite grump is already on stage by the time you get there. Chryseis looks at you with an impatient expressions and says, "Took you long enough. I've been here _forever._ Let's get this over with huh?" She reads: 

_"'Dear readers,_

_Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, especially those of you who have been kind enough to leave longer ones. I've had two people comment that the fight with Firkraag didn't seem difficult enough (Irenicus and DeadGhost thank you extra for your comments on that) and they're probably right. I was trying to keep things going and not stretch the battle out too long so I didn't cover what everyone was doing all the time so that may have been part of it. The other part is that I didn't have all that much trouble with Firkraag, I was lucky when I went in and I had the right sorts of spells memorized for the occasion (have a lower level druid or cleric cast _magic resistance_ and then a higher level mage cast _lower resistance_ and the previously magic-impervious beast will be taken out by Aerie and Haer'Dalis and their never-ending volleys of _magic missil_e... no really, that's what I did ^-^)_ _Anyhow, thanks again to everyone. _

__

_Sincerely, _

_The Blue Sorceress'"_

Chryseis rolls her eyes, sighs and walks away as the stage lights go down. "Dragons," she mutters to herself, "I'd be able to take one in a second!" 


	11. To Spellhold

*** 

Chapter 11: 

To Spellhold 

*** 

It took the rest of the month for the Blades to get together the money to pay for passage to Spellhold, and then, once the Shadow Thieves were paid there was one more favor required: to destroy Bodhi's vampire nest in the graveyards. It was far from the rout Brynn had hoped it would be, but the Blades were victorious, if a little worn and battered, in the end. After the guild had been crushed the Blades had run into Bodhi herself, fought her and sent her fleeing from the catacombs, but where no one knew. 

The famous, or perhaps _infamous_, seaman, Saemon Havarian was contracted to sail the Blades to the island where the fortress-prison of Spellhold stood. A quick witted, charming man with blonde hair, Saemon was quick to flirt with the ladies among the Blades, and just as quickly he was soundly rebuffed. After that he was relatively decent company, if still a bit of a flirt, and he was more than a decent captain. Brynn, who knew next to nothing about sailing, was glad to have a competent man like Saemon in charge of the ship. 

Though the seas were calm, the sky clear and the sun warm and bright the wind was good and strong and the ship moved swiftly on its course. Unfortunately, the weather was the only real bright spot of the voyage. Maybe it was because she was worrying about how she would free Imoen, but Brynn's nightmares started again. She woke up two nights in a row in a cold sweat, flashes of her dreams still haunting her even though her eyes were open. Sometimes she was back in her cage in Irenicus' dungeon, screaming and begging for him to stop the cruel torture of his 'tests', and sometimes she could see Khalid and Dynaheir stretched out, cold and lifeless, their bodies mutilated in some sort of bizarre experiment, and their dead eyes focused on her, as if to blame her for the way they had been violated. After those dreams she couldn't get back to sleep again, no matter how hard she tried, and she took to walking the decks whenever she couldn't sleep. 

*** 

Brynn wasn't the only one who was troubled. Everyone was worried, everyone was a little tense, but of them all the heaviest burden was carried by Yoshimo. Every day that they drew closer to their destination his heart grew heavier and his mind whirled faster as he tried desperately to find some way to free himself from Irenicus' geas. He couldn't think of anything though. He was trapped. If he didn't deliver Brynn to Irenicus he would die, and Brynn would know that he had been a traitor. If he did deliver her she would find out about him anyway, and Irenicus would get his foul hands on her. The choice seemed simple. He would rather die for Brynn than give her to Irenicus, but even if he did turn from the geas there was no guarantee of her safety. Irenicus had a safeguard against any self-sacrificing decision Yoshimo might make, and the name of that safeguard was Saemon Havarian. Sitting near the bow of the ship, Yoshimo held back a sigh and watched restlessly as the sun began to set. There had to be a way, he told himself over and over again. Maybe he could convince Irenicus to let Brynn go. He snorted in contempt of his own silly delusions. Yeah, Irenicus would let Brynn be when the sun turned violet and the clouds pink with black spots. 

"Why the long face, friend?" asked Havarian coming up and taking a seat near Yoshimo. 

Yoshimo didn't answer. 

Havarian gave him a reproachful look. "Oh come on," he said cajolingly, "cheer up!" 

"Havarian," Yoshimo said quietly, "You are an idiot." 

Havarian smiled an ingratiating little smile. "Now, that's not fair," he argued. "You've got to have a little fun while life lasts, Yoshimo my friend. Enjoy the time you have because it's short and it gets shorter every day." 

"Go away, Havarian," Yoshimo said bluntly. 

"Take for instance the lovely lady Brynn," Havarian continued without hesitation. "If I were you I'd enjoy _her_ while she lasts. You've got her convinced you love her, might as well..." 

Yoshimo grabbed Havarian by the throat and looked him in the eyes. "Shut up," he growled, releasing Havarian and pushing him away sharply. 

Havarian rubbed his throat with a strange expression on his face. "You're not acting, are you?" he asked, his voice full of curiosity and wonder. "You really_ do_ love her." He laughed out loud. "By the gods, and you called _me_ an __idiot! I thought you were smarter than that." 

Yoshimo said nothing in reply and continued to look out at the ever darkening sky. 

"Now don't get sullen," Havarian said. "It's not your fault you don't know how to deal with the ladies I suppose. Me for instance, I never get too attached to a pretty face. You have to keep your priorities straight." 

"I reiterate, Havarian, you're an idiot," Yoshimo said coldly. "I _have_ my priorities straight." 

"Not if you're risking your neck like you are now," Havarian argued. "Your own skin has to come first, Yoshimo. I thought you knew that much at least." 

"Some things are more important than that." 

"Love?" Havarian asked. "Love isn't anything but a four letter word used to get the ladies in between the sheets. That's how it's got to be for men like us. We haven't got the time to risk love, it'll just get us killed. Or as good as killed." 

"Then I will die," Yoshimo said. "If it means protecting her I will gladly die." 

Havarian shook his head sadly. "Self-sacrifice sounds noble, but death isn't a pretty thing to think about." He paused. "Still, I have to admire your bravery," he admitted. "It's the sort of thing bards write songs about and ends up in fairy stories. You're going to try and save her from Irenicus I guess." 

Yoshimo nodded, wondering if he ought to be admitting these things to Havarian. 

"Tymora's blessing on you," Havarian said. "It's all I can offer. I'm going to get my reward for this little excursion, but I won't turn you into Irenicus. If you beat the geas somehow it won't make much difference to me I suspect, so long as I get my gold." 

"I hope it makes you happy," Yoshimo muttered. He stood up and stalked aft just as the last bit of the golden sunlight slipped below the horizon. 

*** 

Brynn had a good feeling about things from the moment she set foot on solid ground again. She wasn't a superstitious, but she couldn't help thinking that the fact that the tiny port village beneath Spellhold was called _Brynn_ Law was a good omen if there ever was one. Even the difficulties involved in getting into Spellhold, and the unexpected problems the Blades ran into in the town all seemed to work themselves out nicely with the judicious application of brains, charm and brute force. 

The easiest course to the prison was to obtain the wardstone from a man named Perth, who lived near the outskirts of the city and worked in the prison as some sort of minor functionary. The Blades went to Perth's home, and tried to reason with him, but he was utterly unreasonable, and the result was a short, but violent, battle. Still, the Blades acquired the wardstone at the price of a few cuts, scrapes and magic missile burns, which Brynn though was cheap enough all considered. Besides, the damage was quickly remedied by Anomen, Aerie and Jaheira through their healing magic. 

Cupping the wardstone in her palms Brynn smiled to herself. It was dark, but perhaps a night assault would be more effective than one during the day. "Well," she said to the others, "what do you say? Should we go now or wait until morning." 

"The sooner we rescue Imoen the better," Jaheira said. 

Minsc agreed with her, and so did most of the others. 

Yoshimo, oddly enough, was the only one who hesitated before agreeing. Brynn decided she would talk to him about it later. He was probably just concerned. 

"All right then," she said brightly, "we can get in, get Imoen and get out before dawn if we're quick, and if we're lucky we'll be off the island before the mages up at the prison even know what hit them." She strode off jauntily toward the path that led up to Spellhold. She had this feeling that good things were going to happen, that luck was with her, and that by the time the sun climbed over the horizon again her quest would be complete. 


	12. The Beginning of the End

*** 

Chapter 12: 

The Beginning of the End 

*** 

Jaheira couldn't help feeling that something was wrong as she and the rest of the Blades were led through the stone corridors of Spellhold to Imoen by their cloaked guide. Their guide paused at every cell, pointing to its occupant and explaining why that person needed to be locked up. From a little girl with an immensely powerful, and nearly uncontrolled power to change her shape, to an paranoid elven mage, to the gnome called Tiax whom Jaheira had met before in Baldur's Gate, all the inmates were, at least to some extent, insane. Imoen wasn't insane though, she was annoying at times, yes, but not insane. She didn't deserve to be imprisoned in a place like this. No one did. But that wasn't what was bothering Jaheira, it was something else, something far less tangible. 

Finally the reached their goal, an open room with high stone walls and a sofa and chairs, and to one side Imoen stood, mumbling quietly to herself. 

"What have you done to her?" Brynn demanded angrily, hurrying over to the girl. "Imoen, Imoen, are you all right?" 

Imoen's reply was so quiet that Jaheira could not even hear her, but Brynn grew even more angry. 

"What did you do to her?" 

Their guide chuckled, and the sound of it sent a chill up Jaheira's spine. 

"Tell me what you did to her!" Brynn growled, drawing her katanas. The rest of the Blades, Jaheira included, took their cue from Brynn and drew their weapons as well. "You scum here are worse than the people you lock up! Worse than Irenicus even! At least he didn't hide his deeds behind the mask of law and justice! I'm taking Imoen and leaving!" 

The guide's chuckled turned into a cold laugh. "I think not," he said. 

"I think so!" Brynn snapped, she tried to push past him but he grabbed her arm. 

"Do you still fail to recognize me?" He tilted his head and gave Brynn a good view of his hood-shrouded face. 

Brynn uttered a noise of shock and horror and pulled away from him. "Irenicus!" she hissed. "How...? No! I don't care how you did it! You've overplayed your hand, and you're going to die!" 

Jaheira stood stiff with surprise and rage. Irenicus. Of course, it made sense now, he must have escaped. 

"No more questions," Irenicus said in that emotionless voice of his. "No more fighting, only sleep." 

Jaheira's vision began to be filled with black spots and her eyes began to close. Her knees turned to jelly beneath her and she slumped the ground, hitting the hard stone only moments before the dark took her. 

*** 

"Give me an hour with her, a minute, anything!" Yoshimo begged, trailing in Irenicus' wake as the sinister mage began his 'preparations'. He felt physically ill at the sight of the magical machines that filled the central chamber of Spellhold's lover level. He did not know what the equipment did, but he knew it was something terrible, and he also knew that it was meant for Brynn. 

Along the two long walls were glass tubes, each holding one of the unfortunate prisoners of Athkatla's guild war. Irenicus went from tube to tube, tweaking dials, adjusting levers and pushing buttons with his usual dispassionate expression. He paused every once and a while to look at the tube in the center of the room, festooned with wires, pipes and dozens of switches, buttons and levers, but not once did he pay attention to Yoshimo's pleas. 

"Listen to your obedient dog whine, brother," said Bodhi. She stretched languidly on the steps leading up to the central tube, her pale skin green in the light from the instrument panel. "Why don't you throw him a bone? He's been a very good dog, haven't you?" She smiled and her two gleaming white fangs showed. "He plays fetch so well." She leaned back and laughed out loud. "Such a good dog! Does puppy want a treat?" 

Yoshimo bristled, wanting nothing more than to drive his katana , or better yet a wooden stake, right through Bodhi's heart. He ignored her though and kept his focus on Irenicus. "I beg you, just while you get your... machines... ready," he said. 

At last Irenicus turned around and looked at Yoshimo with cold, emotionless eyes. "You are pathetic," he said after a moment of tense silence. "You are a worm and I could as easily crush you under my heel as let you live." He spoke without malice, stating only facts that both of them knew to be true. 

"I have done everything as you wished," Yoshimo said. 

"Indeed you have," Irenicus replied. 

"Oh throw him a bone," Bodhi repeated, giggling to herself. "Throw him a bone this once. Then watch him squirm when you put his lover into that glass cage! Do it for me if nothing else. I want to see how much he suffers. It makes me laugh!" 

Irenicus turned to Bodhi. "Be quiet," he said, raising his voice forcefully. His colorless eyes refocused on Yoshimo, as emotionless as always. "You have fifteen minutes," he said after a moment. "There is nothing you can do now, and you know that. Neither you or Brynn Trueblade is any danger to me anymore. I do not care what you do. Just be gone from my sight." 

"Yes, begone from our sight," Bodhi echoed gleefully. "Go to your bitch, you've been a good dog." 

Yoshimo was already halfway to the door by the time Bodhi finished speaking, but her laughter chased him down the halls of Spellhold all the way to solid iron door of the cell where Brynn was imprisoned. Outside the door Saemon Havarian was cleaning the dirt out from under his nails with the point of his dagger, whistling tunelessly to himself. The corsair straightened as soon as he saw Yoshimo approach. 

"Listen," Havarian said with a sympathetic expression, "I know you want to save the damsel in distress, but if you try I'll have to kill you. You know that right?" 

Yoshimo took a slow breath. "I know," he said quietly, his throat tight. "I know that... that there is nothing I can do. I just want to see her, to tell her that..." 

"That you're sorry and you didn't want this to happen?" Saemon asked, shaking his head. "It never works. Trust me, they never believe it when you say it about the little things, with something like this... well, you're out of luck, my friend." 

"So you say," Yoshimo said, "but there is a difference between your experience in this matter and my situation." 

Saemon dug into his pocket for the cell key and tossed it to Yoshimo. "What's that?" he asked. 

Yoshimo turned the key in the lock and paused. "Unlike you, I mean what I am going to say." 

Saemon chuckled. "You've got to be the unluckiest man I've ever met, but you're braver than I'll ever be, and that makes up for it I think." 

"Thank you," Yoshimo murmured. 

"Why do you do it?" Saemon asked suddenly. "Why do you risk it? Why let yourself be so miserable? What benefit do you get from it? There has to be something you get otherwise it wouldn't be worth it. You and I both got into this deal because we had to save our skins and because we wanted the gold. You could be sitting pretty right now counting your reward but instead you're putting yourself on the line for a woman and you haven't even got a guarantee on _that_. Is it really worth it?"  
"It is," Yoshimo said. "If my misery can ensure that she does not think I willingly betrayed her, that whatever happens she knows that I love her, it is worth it." He pushed the door open and closed it quietly behind him, leaving Saemon to his thoughts. 

As far as cells went the room was not bad. It was clean, dry, the floor was smooth stone and there was even a bunk chained to the walk in one corner. It wasn't bad, but it was still a cell, a prison. Brynn lay on the bunk, curled up on her side and facing the wall. She sat up when the cell door closed and pushed her hair out of her eyes. She hadn't been crying, and she didn't look like she would start any time soon. She was strong like that during the worst crises, but oddly enough the little disappointments could make her weep. 

For a long, long time they just looked at one another in utter silence, and the at last Brynn said in a soft, vulnerable voice, "Why?" 

Yoshimo couldn't speak for a moment through the hard knot in his throat. "Before I met you Irenicus hired me. I was desperate enough that I did not care if he was not so trustworthy. I had no choice but to accept his offer or be killed by the Shadow Thieves for operating in their territory. Irenicus bound me with a geas to ensure my loyalty, and then ordered me to travel with you and keep you alive until he had a chance to restart his... experiments." He swallowed hard. "I tried everything I could, but the geas... it is stronger than I am, and I could not tell you of it. Irenicus made sure of that. I need you to know that... I... I never lied about my love for you... I... 

"No," Brynn said sharply. "Don't say you didn't lie." Yoshimo felt his heart plunge through the floor. "I know you didn't lie," Brynn continued more gently. "I know you didn't. I know it already, so don't say it." 

It took a moment for Yoshimo to understand what she meant and to peel his heart off of the stones. He felt vaguely like an emotional yo-yo, flung down to the lowest of lows only to be pulled up again all within the space of a few seconds. "You... do?" 

Brynn stood up and nodded. "I never doubted you. You should have known I'd never doubt you." Her lower lip quivered a little. "How... how long...?"  
"Fifteen minutes," Yoshimo told her. "Irenicus is... preparing." 

"What... what's he going to do?" Brynn asked, hugging her arms to her chest. 

"I don't know." 

Brynn sat down again, her eyes unfocused. Yoshimo sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side. "I'm afraid," she said quietly. "I'm afraid of what Irenicus is going to do to me." 

"I will protect you," Yoshimo promised her. It was a stupid promise, one he knew he could not keep, and Brynn probably knew it too. He had to say it though, he had to have hope no matter how faint. The realistic side of him made him add, "But if both of us don't survive..." 

Brynn shook her head violently. "We will," she insisted. "I've got to think that we will. I need to think that we will otherwise..." She trembled. "I just don't want to think about what I would do if I lost you. We've come this far together, I don't want to go the rest of the way without you." 

Yoshimo frowned. "You will though, even if I die you _will_ go on. Swear to me that no matter what you will not falter." 

"I won't," Brynn said snapped. "I won't make that promise! I can't think about that. I know... I know that it's possible, but I have to think that it isn't. I have to pretend otherwise I'll crumble. I'm so scared of what Irenicus will do to me that I feel like something is eating me away from the inside. I have to be strong now though, and if I think for one moment that I won't be leaving this place with you by my side like always, I won't even leave at all." She swallowed hard. "For now I need you to hold me and tell me everything is going to be all right." 

And that's just what he did. 

*** 

From behind the glass walls of the tube Irenicus had trapper her in Brynn looked around with growing horror. Irenicus was insane, she had no doubt about that now. All around the room, trapped just like she was, prisoners from the guild war in Athkatla pounded on the glass of their prisons and shouted, threatened and begged for their release and their lives. Bodhi laughed at them and teased them mercilessly while Irenicus stood at the bottom of the steps that led up to Brynn's tube. He looked at her, his nearly-colorless eyes filled with an intensity that made Brynn shiver. He looked... _hungry_, as if some important goal as near. She felt snared by the cold eyes, terrified but unable to look away. 

Tired of her sport with the imprisoned thieves Bodhi sauntered over to Brynn and tapped her fingernails on the glass of the tube. "Bhaalspawn under glass," she cackled. 

Brynn's eyes snapped away from Irenicus. She snarled at Bodhi and slammed one fist against the glass, making a loud _thump_. 

"Temper, temper," Bodhi scolded mockingly. "This is why we have to keep you locked up, it's for your own good." 

"Stop taunting her so we can begin," Irenicus ordered, obviously far from amused at Bodhi's antics. 

Bodhi scowled at stalked down the steps to stand at Irenicus' side. "I was having so much fun though," she said. 

Brynn looked away from her two captors and smiled bravely at Yoshimo. He smiled back, though his mask of confidence was thin and threadbare. She guessed that hers was much the same. Not far from Yoshimo, Saemon Havarian shifted restlessly from foot to foot and sending glances at her from the corner of his eyes when he thought she wasn't looking. He seemed perplexed, as if he was trying to work out some sort of puzzle, but always kept falling short of the solution. Between Havarian and Irenicus, Imoen stood, her eyes dull and her face blank. She looked... _empty_, and Brynn wondered if Irenicus had the same plans for her as he had Imoen. She quickly turned her mind away from such thoughts, and reinforced the walls of her failing courage. 

"So at last the end is near," Irenicus said as soon as an anticipatory silence had fallen across the room. Even the frantic thieves had gone quiet, ceasing their impassioned pleas for mercy. "You have caused me far more trouble than I had thought, child of Bhaal, but the game is finally over and I have won." 

"Because you cheated," Brynn accused. 

Irenicus smiled coldly. "Of course. I would have been a fool not to give myself an advantage. In that regard Yoshimo served me well." 

"Of course." Brynn said, echoing his words mockingly, "But you had to force his loyalty with a spell. Everyone in this room knows that otherwise _you'd_ be the one in a cage now, not me. No, you'd be _dead_." 

"I doubt that very much," Irenicus replied blandly. 

"I don't, you scum sucking shit weasel," Brynn countered. "You're a real moron if you think you and an entire army could have beaten me. You've made an enemy of me, Irenicus, and once that's happened you might as well put your head between your legs and kiss your ass good bye. I don't even care anymore what you've done to me, but for killing my friends and whatever the hell you did to Imoen I'm going to cut you into pieces so tiny that people will be picking bits of you out of the corners of this room for years." 

Irenicus actually laughed. "Not with the power you have now," he said. "Do you even realize the power that lies hidden in you? The power that lay hidden in your Imoen?" 

"What about Imoen?" Brynn demanded. "She's no spawn of Bhaal." Was she? 

"Oh really?" Irenicus asked pointedly. "Even you should be smarter than that. Both of you were raised in the safe confines of Candlekeep, under the watchful eye of your ward, Gorion, both of you nearly the same age. I would not have bothered with her had she _not_ been Bhaalspawn. She would be a corpse now just like your two friends, or perhaps I would have given her to Bodhi." 

Brynn snarled in rage and beat the glass with her fists. "You're a monster, Irenicus. You're an insane monster! As soon as I get free I'm going to wring your neck until your eyes bug out of your ugly head!" 

"No," Irenicus said matter-of-factly, "you won't. If you survive the processes you will be no threat to me. Good bye, Child of Bhaal." He walked up and flipped a number of levers and buttons on the panel in front of Brynn. 

She watched in utter horror as one by one the trapped thieves fell dead, their life forces drained to fuel Irenicus' hideous creation. Brynn felt her skin tingle, and she gave a cry of terror as the whole world fell into blackness. 

*** 

To Be Continued 


	13. The Slayer

***  


Chapter 13: 

The Slayer 

*** 

Consciousness returned slowly to Brynn. Bright lights stung her eyes, and she struggled to her feet, leaning hard against the glass walls of her cage. Her whole body hurt, like her bones had been replaced by molten rock. Hundreds of images whirled through her mind. A battle with a dead god, with herself, and Imoen -but not Imoen- helping her, giving her the strength to defeat the specter of her dead sire, and then... and then emptiness, and a blackness so deep that it hurt. She left cold and incomplete, like something precious had been stolen from her. She caught sight of Irenicus, standing like a cold statue at the bottom of the steps. 

"What... what have you _done_ to me?" Her sluggish tongue felt like dry leather in her mouth and her words made her head throb. "Tell me what you've done to me." 

"I have taken everything that made you special," Irenicus replied evenly. "I have taken your very soul." 

Brynn's knees gave way and she sank back down to the floor of her glass prison. "My soul..." she echoed. Was that was what missing? Was that what made her feel so empty and dead inside? She broke into a cold sweat. "You... you can't have. You can't," she croaked. "You... you're lying..." 

Irenicus regarded her with a disgusted sneer. "I have," he said. He turned away from her and started walking away. "Bodhi, dispose of them all." 

Bodhi's shrill laugh sent shivers up Brynn's spine. "This will be fun!" she crowed. 

Turning back one last time, Irenicus said, "Good bye, spawn of Bhaal, we shall not meet again." "No..." Brynn whispered. "Come back here..." She slumped backward, unable to even sit up anymore. The coldness in her grew and the emptiness overtook her from the inside out. 

*** 

The next time Brynn awoke she didn't feel quite so bad. The blinding pain had faded to a dull ache, but the emptiness in her that she had come to realize was the absence of her soul was... she couldn't think about it without having her vision cloud to black again. She wanted to die and just get it over with, but she knew she couldn't. She couldn't let Irenicus win. 

"Brynn? Jaheira! She's awake!" 

Lethargically, Brynn turned her head and saw Imoen leaning over her. Her face was gaunt and so tired, but it was still Imoen. "Where are we?" Brynn asked, trying to sit up. A half dozen pairs of hands pushed her back down again. 

"Do not move," Jaheira said. "Stay as you are." 

"Where are we?" Brynn asked again. She saw only the anxious faces of her friends and the heavy stone blocks of the ceiling high above. Frantic she scanned the group for Yoshimo and found his missing. "Where's Yoshimo?" she demanded, pushing past the hands that held her down. "Where is he?" 

"Minsc hold her still!" Jaheira shouted, grabbing Brynn by the shoulder. Minsc took hold of her two and together the druid and the ranger pressed her back down against the cold stone. "Stay still!" Jaheira snapped. "Now damn you, listen to what I say! You are ill, Brynn, weakened and ill and you must stay still until you are well enough to get up again." She took a deep, calming breath. "We are in the maze beneath Spellhold, once a testing ground to see in patients were eligible for release and now Bodhi's playground. She has set us loose in here for her own entertainment, and that is her folly. If we can win past the beasts she has left in here, and the traps she has set we will be free, but for now you must lay still." 

"Where is Yoshimo?" Brynn asked again. 

"Not here," Anomen said coldly. "I imagine he is counting his reward as we speak." 

"No," Brynn insisted, struggling out of the arms that held her down. She got to her feet and stumbled, but kept her balance. 

"Brynn!" Jaheira growled, "lay down!" 

"I'm fine!" Brynn snapped back. She gave Jaheira a warning look turned to Anomen and met his brown eyes. "You don't understand! You don't know what happened at all." 

"I know we were betrayed, and that the thief betrayed us!" Anomen retorted. "I know enough!" 

Brynn clenched her hands into fists. "Shut up!" she yelled. "You don't know anything! He had no choice!" 

Anomen opened his mouth to argue but Jaheira interrupted, "Both of you stop it!" she ordered. "This is not the time for arguing!" 

"Jaheira is correct," Mazzy put in. She reached up and put a restraining hand on Brynn's elbow. "What we need right now is calm." 

"Calm?" Brynn demanded. "Tell me how I can be calm! Irenicus stole my soul!" 

"And whose fault is that?" Anomen countered. 

Brynn felt a strange rage build inside of her. White hot and terrible it threatened to consume her. It terrified her, and so she forced it back, but it still churned deep within her, only barely contained. "You don't understand," she repeated through clenched teeth. 

Minsc approached and patted her on the shoulder. "It will be all right, little Brynn. Here, Boo will comfort you." 

Brynn shrugged away from him and whirled around. The rage began to build within her again and without even quite knowing what she was doing she punched him in the temple and sent him reeling back a few steps. One of his feet caught on a crack in the stone floor and sent him sprawling onto his rear. "You big, stupid _freak_!" Brynn shouted. "What does your damn rat know?" 

Minsc lay propped up on his elbows, looking up at Brynn with such confusion in his eyes that it made the rage die away in an instant. Brynn felt sick and tears stung her eyes. What had she done? 

Her hands shaking, she knelt down on the ground and wrapped her arms around the tall ranger's neck. "Gods, I'm so sorry, Minsc. There's something wrong with me," she sobbed. "I'm all torn apart and I don't even know what I'm doing anymore." 

Unhesitatingly Minsc enfolded her in a great bear hug. "It's okay, little Brynn," he said heartily. "I forgive you, and so does Boo." He helped her to her feet and patted her on the back. "Don't cry, Misnc will mop the floor with the buttocks of that evil wizard!" 

"It's not okay," Brynn protested. "It's not!" She scrubbed her hands across her face and tried to collect herself to little avail. "It's like there's a pit in me and at the very bottom is this... _thing_ and... no, never mind that. We don't have time for this right now." 

"Brynn..." Jaheira began. 

"No, we don't have time," Brynn returned, "I mean it. I don't feel like I did before, I'm all right, and... and I can keep the darkness back. Come on, we need to get out of this place." She looked around the room and spotted their gear piled in a heap on the stone. "Well, at least Bodhi gave us our stuff back," she muttered. She walked over to the pile and sifted through it until she found her katanas -still in their scabbards and attached to the scabbard belt- and belted them around her waist. "Get your stuff... I want to be out of this pit as soon as possible." 

*** 

The Blades made their way through the dank, dirty, monster-filled corridors of the maze beneath Spellhold. Slowly Brynn's headache faded, but the rage within her kept growing and growing until it threatened to consume her. All the damn puzzles, all the damn monsters, all the damn... everything. She had thought the worst part was the emptiness that came after she awoke, but the rage... the rage was worse than any emptiness because everything she had ever believed cried out against it, and yet she could not deny that some part of her wanted to welcome it. Some part of her wanted to accept the rage with open arms and let it let it engulf her. 

She thought it was sweet when Imoen tried to comfort her, sweet in the sense that it was futile. What did Imoen know any way? Imoen had never battled the darkness like Brynn had, because Brynn had protected her dear friend from the things that would tarnish her innocence. All Imoen had to deal with was the emptiness, and so was lucky in a way that she could never even comprehend. 

Brynn needed for everything to be all right, she needed someone to tell her that the anger in her would go away and she would be herself again come sunrise. That had always been what Yoshimo had done for her, but she didn't know where he was. Every time she looked to her right she expected to see him flash her a scoundrel's grin, but all she saw was the cold stone of the walls. It was unfair. She had done nothing to deserve any of the things that had happened to her since her arrival at Spellhold, nothing at all. She had fought so hard and long and when she needed it, the man she loved couldn't be there by her side because of some twist of fate. No, not even that. Because of a spell, a damn spell. 

She shook her head sharply. There were other things that she had to think about if she wanted to get out of the maze and live to kill Irenicus. A deep breath calmed her a little, but the rage was still there, like a living thing it whispered to her just beneath the surface of her mind. It had a garbled, angry voice, barely audible against the background hum of her thoughts and the echoes of footsteps in the corridor. 

The voice of Brynn's rage fell silent for a moment when she rounded a corner and saw Bodhi approach. To Brynn that pale face was unmistakable. It was the face of one of the people who had caused all of Brynn's suffering, the face of the woman who unjustly held Imoen's soul. It was a target for her rage 

"You have done well," Bodhi purred, grinning so that her fangs showed between her lips. Behind her two of her vampiric minions materialized and aped her demonic grin. "But I have no time to play with you anymore, so I'll have to kill you now." She came forward taking long, arrogant strides. 

Brynn uttered only one word, "Attack!" and behind her the Blades drew their weapons and charged forward. 

The rage sang of blood in Brynn's ears. It promised quick victory if only she would give in. It promised power like she could never have known before, and the protests of what was left of her soul were overwhelmed by the shouts of her rage. She roared, animal like, and let the rage take her. It filled her until it felt like it would pour out her mouth and eyes, and behind it came wave after wave of all the power it had promised and a dark taint unrivaled in its evil. Her hair stood on end like a golden flame, and it wavered in the currents of power that flowed around her. Her tunic and trousers, and even her scabbard belt burned to dust right off her body. 

Even as Brynn struck and tore Bodhi's two minions to shreds with her katanas the taint of the power made her feel sick to her stomach, but she was no longer in control of herself and could not have stopped even if she wanted to. Her rage ruled her, it guided her blades and feet and put an unearthly strength behind her blows. 

Bodhi reeled backward, her eyes wide with fear and surprise. "This..." she stammered, "this isn't what was supposed to happen!" She staggered backward a few steps, then puffed into a cloud of fog. In a second she was gone. 

The song of Brynn's rage slowly faded away and died, and she slumped to the floor, shaking and shivering as sweat poured over her body. The stone was cold against her bare skin and it seemed to bring her mind back to where she was, it cooled her rage and soothed the sick feeling that brought the taste of bile to her lips. She didn't dare look up, she didn't dare turn to see the expressions on her friends faces. She couldn't bear to see the disgust and horror they must have felt. 

"Never again," she said, more to herself than the others. "Never again, I won't let it take me again." She spoke with all her heart, but she knew that now that she had tasted the sickly-sweet power of rage she might not be able to resist the temptation to use it again. 

to be continued 

*** 

______________________________________________________________ 

As the lights come up an unfamiliar girl is standing on the stage, still a blonde, still blue eyed, but distinctly less muscular and a touch shorter than the ever-grouching Chryseis de Curion. She wears a pair of blue jeans and a ribbed blue cotton turtleneck shirt. She smiles broadly and waves one small hand. 

"Hi!" she chirps brightly. "Since I doubt you recognize me I'll introduce myself. I'm your author -or maybe more accurately, her avatar since she's the one doing the typing- known here at FFN as The Blue Sorceress. You can just call me 'master' or Blue if you prefer." She chuckled briefly and cracks her knuckled. "Where to begin? Let's see... I'm sorry this last chapter took so long to get out to you. Several things have gotten in my way lately, not the least of which was a trip to Washington D.C. with my AP history class. That took a while and I had no time to write while I was there. Add on to that a serious case of no-time-to-write-itis, and the fact that this last chapter was a little hard to deal with and you've got yourself one long wait. A couple of things came up while I was writing." She scans the audiences curiously for a moment. "I don't know if you're out there right now, but a reviewer, Bohki, I believe her name was brought up some questions about my use of Japanese in the story. According to my Japanese/English dictionary I _am_ using the word '_aijin_' correctly, but if you've got a different, better source let me know, I'd appreciate the help. Also, so far as Yoshimo and Haer'Dalis getting along the way I've got things figured out Haer'Dalis wasn't quite as clued into the whole treachery issue until it was too late. He knew Yoshimo was hiding something at first, but he just figured it was that Yoshimo had feelings for Brynn, therefore he just sort of didn't look any farther for a reason. And yes, Brynn is über poweful, but that's just when she's really angry. I look at it this way: when she gets furious like that she's tapping into that litte extra god-powered oomph in her and that's whay she kicks so much enemy behind." 

Blue shrugs. "I think that's about it," she says. "Oh! And in case you were wondering, Chryseis is gone for the duration." She smiles a wisked little smile. "She complained too much and I decided to give her a little of the action she'd been asking for. Well, ta-ta for now, I've got history homework to do!" 

With that the lights fade and Blue disappears backstage. 


	14. Broken

*** 

Chapter 14: 

Broken 

*** 

After Brynn dressed in a spare set of clothes borrowed from Jaheira she led the Blades out of the maze. She walked stiffly and said nothing until they were all in the prison proper again. Their fearless leader was not so fearless anymore, and what's more the thing she was afraid of was within her. To say the least it wasn't exactly the sort of thing that inspired confidence, and coupled with her earlier irrational behavior is was damn near disturbing as well. 

Not long after the Blades were back inside the prison itself Saemon Havarian appeared, flashing a conspiratorial grin. "Glad to see you're alive, my girl!" he exclaimed, approaching Brynn with a wide armed gesture that was probably meant to look both friendly and non-threatening at the same time. 

Saemon barely got within arm's reach before Brynn punched him hard in the face and threw him sprawling into the stone wall. She walked passed him, never even glancing in his direction and said, "The feeling is _not_ mutual." 

Saemon leaned against the wall, cupping one hand over his bleeding and probably broken nose, his eyes fixed on the grim faces of the Blades of Honor as they walked past him single file, and like their leader, never even batted an eye at him. 

*** 

The only thought that crossed Brynn's mind from the moment she left the maze was _find Irenicus_. Of course the darker corners of her being prompted visions of just what she would do when she found him, and to her intense disgust she found that those thoughts made a cruel smile come to her lips. She had never enjoyed pain before, not her own, and not anyone else either, but the thought of Irenicus dying a slow, terrible death made her happy. 

"My raven?" Haer'Dalis ventured cautiously, coming up beside her. 

Brynn turned her head and regarded him with cold eyes. "What?" 

Haer'Dalis paused for a moment, then said, "The state of every plane it to move toward chaos, but sometimes even I must admit that an overabundance of chaos is too much. I cannot say what you are thinking and feeling now, but I have, in my travels, met those who are fueled only by their rage and their power. Those beings were always more vicious than the worst of demons, more cruel and heartless." 

"What's your point?" Brynn snapped. 

"Simply that I have enjoyed my travels with you, enjoyed your company and the exciting adventures I have had with you. I dare say that I have come to know you, and though fate and chaos are my muses I would forsake them ere I would wish for you to fall to the darkness that threatens to take you even now." He looked at her, his ever-smiling blue-gray eyes as solemn as they had ever been. 

Brynn softened a little. She couldn't always quite tell whether or not Haer'Dalis was being literal or exaggerating, but this time she was certain he meant what he was saying. "Thank you," she said. "I won't give into the darkness if I can help it. I've already lost so much today, I don't want to lose what's left of my soul." She picked up her pace a little, and Haer'Dalis dropped back again, letting her take the lead alone. 

It wasn't long before Brynn came to the door that led into the room that held Irenicus' machines. Never in her life would she forget the way the those cold iron doors looked, no matter how hard she tried. Had she the strength left to fear she would have feared facing Irenicus again so soon after he had stolen away not only her soul but her beloved Yoshimo as well, but she had only the strength of spirit left yet to hate, and her hate overcame all doubts about her course. She waited only long enough for her companions to gather at the door behind her before she worked the door handle and kicked the door wide open. A moment later both of her blades were unsheathed and she strode into the room. 

She saw Irenicus not far away, just down the metal stairs and across the stone floor, standing like some sort of demented god on the steps that led up to the main control panel of his insidious device. The look of surprise in the eyes of the evil mage was enough to make Brynn smile tightly. Irenicus had underestimated her, and it gave her a deep satisfaction to prove to him that he was not so infallible as he had thought, and nor was she as vulnerable. 

"You!" Irenicus exclaimed. "You possess a mere fraction of your soul and yet you still pursue me!" 

"That's _why_ I pursue you," Brynn said coldly. She sensed her friends arrange themselves behind her and draw their weapons. "Didn't Bodhi come and tell you?" she taunted. "Didn't she even bother to tell you what transpired below this stone floor?" 

Irenicus, if he had been a more emotional man, probably would have paled. Instead his eyes colorless eye took on a thoughtful look and his bloodless lips pressed together in pale line. Brynn knew by that look that Bodhi had told him, and that at the time he had given the issue no more thought than he might a fly buzzing in his ear. The mage trusted too much in his own power and the power he had stolen from Brynn to believe himself easily defeated. 

Brynn was going to set him straight. "You messed up, Irenicus," she said, advancing ever so slowly toward the mage. She kept her eyes locked on his, showing him the fire, the hate, and the rage that burned deep within the empty place where her soul belonged. "You took something from me and thought it would steal away all my power, leave me defenseless, but you were wrong. All you did was take away my inhibitions, let loose the killer that waited inside of me, and by all that I am, was and ever will be, _I will kill you!_" She charged, and at the same time Irenicus invoked his spells of protection, readied long before hand to be cast as soon as a battle began. His skin became stone, and magic shields sprang up around him, washed over him, and imbued him with power that would be proof against her katanas, that is, had her katanas been magical weapons. 

Often enough other mages had fallen to her hand, thinking themselves safe because they were protected against the sort of magic weapons adventurers of Brynn's standing would have carried, but there was no magic behind the power of Brynn's swords was that of her own life force, her _ki_. Her blades shone brightly in battle not because of enchantment, but because they were an extension of her will, and her own power flowed along and throughout their metal blades the same as it did in her body. 

Her first blades struck Irenicus' arm, but only served to strip away one of the many layers of his stony protection and alert Irenicus to the fact that her blades could do him harm. He back up into the control panel at the top of the steps and wove his hands in the air and moments later, before Brynn could cross the space between them, and five small spheres of glowing red energy leapt from his fingertips to strike and burn Brynn's skin. She used the pain as a focus and let the rage in her build until it nearly -nearly- consumed her. Instead of letting the terrible transformation that had occurred in the lower levels overtake her though, she reigned in the hate and rage and put it to work and added power to her attacks. 

Backed between the control panel and Brynn's relentless blades, Irenicus used the advantage given him by his stone skin and soaked up Brynn's attacks and wove his hands and spoke another spell. As the last layer of Irenicus' stone fell away under the sharp edges of Brynn's, and just as the rest of the Blades began to surround him for the kill, the casting was finished and from the stone rose nine figures, each one of them identical to one of the Blades. Around her Brynn heard her friends curse and turn away from Irenicus to hold back the wave of doppelgangers, but she stood and faced Irenicus, preferring to let her friends take care of the summoned enemies while she slew the mage herself. 

At the same time Brynn's right-hand blade sliced into the flesh of Irenicus' right arm another round of pre-prepared spells enveloped Irenicus, undoing all of Brynn's efforts up to that point. Now Brynn cursed, and the rage began to boil out of her control, but she found the willpower to push it back again and harness it for another round of attacks. Another volley of magic missiles struck Brynn, and while she was staggered by the attack Irenicus continued his magical offensive and let loose a fireball. The globe of magical fire struck just behind where all the rest of the Blades fought against their magical doubles, and it exploded sending waves of flame across the stone floor. The heat blistered the skin on Brynn's back set fire to her tunic. She screamed in pain and flailed frantically as she tried to put out the flames. She lost her footing and fell backward down the stairs, thudding hard against the ground. Around her she saw her friends swatting the fire that had caught on their clothes out. She also saw that the blast of the fireball had taken its toll on the duplicates that Irenicus had created. The mage had just messed up again. 

While Irenicus readied another spell Brynn scrambled to her feet again, ignoring the pain in her burned back, and used her blades to slice through the ranks of the Irenicus' clones. Without armor, and having taken the full force of the fireball Irenicus had cast in their ranks, the copy warriors could not stand up to Brynn's rage or the sharp edges of her katanas. At the same time Brynn struck one of the clones down Jaheira smashed the face of another in with Blackblood, and not more than a few moments later a third crumpled to the floor, its skull caved in by Anomen's mace. A fourth was split in two by as Minsc used Lilarcor to cleave it from crown to groin. A fifth slipped to the stone, its guts spilling out of the wound left by Haer'Dalis' twin short swords, Chaos and Entropy, and a sixth's short existence was ended as Mazzy drove her long sword deep into its chest. The seventh and eighth fell shortly thereafter, their corpses smoking from the deadly spells that Aerie and Nalia had unleashed. And the ninth... well it probably never even notice that Imoen was there before she had stuck her dagger into the back of its neck. 

Still, there was no time to rejoice in their limited victory over their clones, Irenicus was still alive, and as the Blades turned toward him he finished his spell. Lightening arced from his fingertips and all those who could dodged out of the way. Brynn hoped her companions would be all right as she dropped to her stomach on the stone floor and the bolt of lightening passed over her head, the charge it left making the hair on her head stand on end for a moment afterward. The bolt bounded off the walls of the room, striking Irenicus' foul equipment and sending up showers of sparks and flames. 

Brynn was up before the lightening had dissipated, more or less confident that she could avoid its deadly strike. The others were no slower in getting to their feet, though a little warier. Irenicus was casting another spell again long before the bold of lightening began to fizzle away, but burned, bloodied, and weakened, the Blades were far from beaten and to prove it two arrows, courtesy of Nalia and Imoen, shot through the air, crumbling more of Irenicus' defenses and more importantly distracting him enough to interrupt his spell casting. The mage stood warily, his eyes shifting for Brynn's stony face to his weakening defenses, but he made no move to attack, as if he was planning his next move. 

That was fine in Brynn's eyes. Rage was all well and good, but strategy was better. A quick motion of Brynn's hand signaled to her companions that they should regroup. She waved Minsc and Jaheira forward so that they flanked her and nodded her approval as Aerie and Anomen cast simple spells of healing on their more wounded comrades. Haer'Dalis began humming quietly under his breath, and Brynn felt her skin prickle as the bard's magic set to work. At the same time Irenicus began to cast his own spell. 

Brynn advanced, sensing that the time was right and any more delay would be costly. "What can you do?" she asked pointedly, each step sending a wave of stinging pain up her back as her tattered tunic shifted against her burned skin. If she could taunt Irenicus into a reply maybe she could interrupt his spell casting and buy enough time any of the Blades' own mages to pull down his defenses again. "You are one and we are nine. Your summoned duplicates were no match for us." She laughed, trying to sound nonchalant and cold. The latter was not hard, inside she felt like her heart had been turned to something so cold it burned... or something to hot that it seemed to frozen to the touch, but she was far from nonchalant; the rage still roared within her. "Even with the power you stole from me you are at a disadvantage!" 

Brynn's ploy failed. Irenicus was not touched by her jibes, and seconds after the last word left her lips Irenicus had finished his spell and just beyond the edges of his magical barriers a disembodied skull surrounded by a fog of roiling, noxious vapors came into being and sped straight toward Brynn. Brynn dodged, but the spell caught her and filled her with a terrible, stinging pain. She felt the strength draining from her limbs, but determined to win, if for no other reason than to appease her rage, she fought back against the tide of weakness that threatened to destroy her. The foul smoke cleared away and Brynn stood on trembling knees, holding up one hand to keep her companions back. Irenicus' defenses were still in place and it would do no good to throw themselves heedlessly at the magical force fields that protected him. 

Irenicus gave her a chilly smile. Round two had begun. 

*** 

By Aerie's estimation things weren't going all that well. Irenicus' last spell had staggered Brynn, and at this stage none of them could afford to be weakened anymore than they already were. The petite avariel elf tried to shake her worries from her mind, and instead of being nervous and flighty -as Jaheira had told her she tended to be- she put her heart and soul into a prayer to her God, using the power of her faith to bring up a series of magical protections around herself and her friends. She then shifted the focus of her magic to the arcane instead of the divine, and began to cast the spell _breach_, hoping it would lift enough of Irenicus' spells to leave him vulnerable, if only for a little while, to the Blades' attacks. 

*** 

Jaheira saw the magic shields around Irenicus crumble just as the evil mage finished casting another spell. A ring of fire spread outward from around Irenicus, bursting across the already ruined room. She jumped back, relying on the elven half of her heritage to help her avoid the worst of the flames and hoping her armor could take the rest. Sylvanus bless the dwarf Cromwell for forging armor for her out of the scales of the shadow dragon the Blades had fought in the abandoned temple to Amaunator! 

She felt her feet get a little warm, but otherwise Jaheira escaped the blast of fire unscathed and she was quick to assess the condition of the rest of her companions. The mages to the back were all fine, too far away from Irenicus, the epicenter of the ring of fire, to be hurt by it. Minsc was nearly immune to fire spells, what with his red dragon scale armor on. Anomen was not so lucky, having no dragon scales to protect his pompous hide, but he seemed more or less all right. Mazzy, was close enough to the edge of the blast radius that she had been able to clear it just in the nick of time. 

Brynn on the other hand... 

Jaheira winced, seeing a new set of blistering burns running up the front of her charge's legs. She noted the ginger way that Brynn held her two katanas, as if her palms had been singed. They probably had been, Brynn had been near the center of that wave of fire. Brynn still tightened her grip on her katanas though, frowning as she did so. Jaheira clenched her fingers around Blackblood a little more tightly too, expecting Brynn to signal a charge or Irenicus to let off another magical attack. The two mortal enemies, the evil mage and the noble Kensai, stared each other down, each waiting for the right moment to make their move. 

*** 

"Whoohoo! That was _toasty!_ I haven't been that warm since... well, ever," Lilarcor said. 

Minsc's eyes flickered down to the sentient sword for a moment. "Red dragon?" he asked pointedly. 

"Ah yeah, well I suppose I was hot then too," Lilarcor grumbled. "But in my scabbard! You put me away for that one and used some wimpy _long sword!_ Good thing I'm not the jealous type or..." 

"Shut up," Minsc said. "We have a battle going on and the butt of evil needs a good kicking." He returned his attention to the killer of Dynaheir, the mage Irenicus, with a growl. Oh Irenicus would rue the day he crossed paths with Minsc and Boo! 

"Oooh! Hey, sweet-cheeks is looking a little toasty too!" Lilarcor exclaimed. 

"How many times must I tell you, sword?" Minsc muttered under his breath, "Don't call little Brynn 'sweet-cheeks!'" He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Brynn -little Brynn, she was such an adorable little girl! And powerful too!- standing unsteadily, and she truly did look, as Lilarcor had said, 'toasty'. That made Minsc mad. Really mad. How dare the killer of Dynaheir hurt little Brynn anymore than he already had? It was an act of true villainy, and one the ranger could not simply stand by and ignore. Enough was enough. 

Minsc charged, forward, readying Lilarcor to slice the mage from crown to groin if need be. 

Lilarcor seemed to jiggle with excitement in Minsc's hands, and the sword shouted, "This is for my grandmother, who said I'd never amount to anything more than a butter-knife!" It was a good battle cry. 

*** 

It hurt, the way her legs burned, her back burned, her hands, her chest, her whole body burned, and Brynn focused that pain and used it. She would use anything she had to defeat Irenicus. She heard Minsc begin his charge, heard Lilarcor shout his battle cry, and she too charged forward, both of her blades held ready. Each movement stretched and pulled her seared skin, but she focused that pain too. She got to the mage ahead of her tall comrade, and just in time to take the brunt of Irenicus' next spell. Her footfalls triggered a rune, quickly inscribed on the stairs as Irenicus saw her approach, and sent both Brynn and Minsc, and Jaheira as well for the druid had joined as well, sailing backward through the air. 

Brynn landed hard, slamming into the broken floor. Sharp edged rubble dug into her back and before her eyes a flash of color exploded. She lay there on the ground, near screaming with pain but too stunned to utter a sound. She felt cool hands on her breastbone and then a tingling erupted throughout her whole body, soothing her burning skin and easing the ache in her bones and muscles. Her eyes flew open and she saw Anomen leaning over her. 

Brynn sat up, and then got to her feet, far more steady now than she had been since the battle had begun. "Thank you," she muttered, feeling grateful for his help but unable to express that in her voice. She picked her katanas up of the ground where they lay and gauged the battle. Minsc was up, looking no the worse for wear because of his heavy armor, and Jaheira too was standing again, though she was limping a little. That was quickly solved as the druid set her own healing magic to work and mend her own wounds. Brynn signaled to Mazzy to come with her, and the halfling warrior nodded her head, trotting up to Brynn's side. 

A globe of magical energy shot out from behind Brynn, courtesy of Aerie and in its wake followed two volleys of magic missiles from Imoen and Nalia. The first attack took down Irenicus' shields -again- and the second two burned into the Irenicus' skin, ten different magical spheres striking all in the same spot on his chest. Irenicus howled in pain and yet another pre-prepared set of defenses went up around him and at the same time evoked a fiery cloud that settled in the midst of the Blades' disorganized formation. 

Coughing and choking Brynn sheathed her katanas, grabbed Mazzy and ran out of the cloud of fire. Her newly healed skin burned again, and she could smell her hair catch on fire. As soon she was free of the cloud of fire Brynn dropped to the ground and put out the flames on her clothes and swatted out the flames in her hair. She noticed that Haer'Dalis had stopped his battle song and was instead coughing and putting out a fire that had sprung up on Aerie's robes. Imoen was busy performing a similar service for Nalia. Beside Brynn Mazzy hefted her long sword, the Sword of Avoreen, -which she wielded two-handed- and looked up into Brynn's eyes. He expression seemed to ask 'what now?' 

"We need to get coordinated," Brynn said calmly, answering the unasked question in Mazzy's eyes. 

"You are hurt," Mazzy pointed out. 

"No more than anyone else," Brynn growled. "I've no time to be complaining anyway. Irenicus has to be getting low on spells, now's our chance to get him." 

"We are running low on magic too, Brynn," Mazzy pointed out. "Every time we bring his shields down they come up again." 

"One of these times they won't come up again," Brynn argued. She saw Minsc and Jaheira ready themselves for another charge and drew her blades again. "Wait until one of the mages has taken his shields down again and then come in from the left," she whispered to Mazzy. "I only hope Minsc and Jaheira and I can keep him busy _and_ keep our skins until then. Once his shields are down we four can get in and gut him before he can bring another set up. You understand the idea?" 

Mazzy nodded. "I understand, but..." 

"Just follow the plan," Brynn snapped in hushed tones. "I need you with me." She strode forward, leaving Mazzy behind and joined her other two companions in their seemingly useless attacks on Irenicus. If she could just buy enough time for Imoen, Nalia, Aerie or Haer'Dalis to pull down Irenicus' shields one last time she knew that she could slay the mage. She hoped she could at least. The rage had quieted a little, but not much, and she figured that it was because of how much she had been weakened. It took energy to sustain her rage and harness it, but she was quickly running out of energy. Despite her pain and her the weakness that threatened her Brynn drew on her strength again, tapping into her _ki _to fuel her next attacks.Damn the mage! She slashed out with her right hand katana, chipping away one layer of his protective stone skin. Damn Irenicus all the way to the Abyss! Now with her left hand katana she removed another layer. Damn him to the deepest of the Nine Hells! Both blades came in now, taking down yet another of Irenicus' defenses, and at the same time Irenicus cast another of his damned spells, reaching out with his hands and grabbing the incoming blade. Electricity arced from Irenicus' hands down the katana's steel blade and into Brynn's hands and body. She stumbled backward, her muscles twitching involuntarily as she tried to steady herself again. Damn him he would _not_ win! Growling she came at the mage again. 

*** 

Imoen saw Brynn, her dearest friend -her sister- stumble back, electricity jumping across her skin and then dissipating to leave Brynn shaking but somehow still on her feet. Imoen saw this, but she didn't let it interrupt her spell-casting. Imoen hated Irenicus, she hated him with a passion born of all the torment he had put her through. She hated him for what he had done to her friends, and she hated him even more for what he had done to her. He had violated her in body all those months ago in his demented laboratory, and now he had violated her in spirit too, stealing her soul from her and giving it to Bodhi, the undead abomination he called his 'sister'. 

Imoen, like Brynn, was empty and cold, having lost a vital piece of herself, and like Brynn she found a focus for her rage, though her rage was not so strong, so violent as her sister's, because Imoen was not so violent a person. She focused her anger into her spells, used it to hone her concentration, and as she saw Brynn stumble forward to attack Irenicus again she gathered up magical energy and sent it at the hated mage. The spell, _breach_, by name, ripped apart the weaves of Irenicus' defenses and brought them down. 

This time the shields did not come back up. 

*** 

Brynn saw Irenicus' defenses fall and sent a silent thanks to whoever had brought them down, and then another silent thanks to the Gods that they had not come up again. "Now!" she shouted. She forced herself to cover the ground quickly, stepping around or over the rubble and the bodies of the Blades' slain doubles. Irenicus sent off another spell just as Brynn's feet touched the steps, and from his hands another arc of lightening crackled to life and leapt at Brynn. It struck her in the shoulder -she had seen it coming and dodged to the side- throwing her backward and sending jolts of agony through her body, before the lightening leapt from her to Minsc, who was following close behind, and then to Jaheira and Mazzy and even Anomen, though he had not joined the charge in favor of casting one of his offensive spells. Anomen's cursing told Brynn that he had lost his spell. 

Brynn fought against her rebelling muscles, demanding control, and as soon as she had it she advanced once more with deliberate slowness. "How long can you keep this up, Irenicus?" she demanded as she picked her way across the broken, corpse-littered floor. "Eventually every mage, no matter how powerful, runs out of spells, but I," she grinned cruelly and raised her katanas high, "I will _never_ run out of hate!" 

Irenicus returned her hateful grin with derisive and angry words. "I haven't the time for this!" he snapped. "My servants can finish you for me now. Farewell, Brynn Trueblade," he sneered, "we shan't meet again." 

Even before she saw him begin to cast the spell Brynn knew he was going to flee. Desperate she ran the last few yards only to have her blades cut the air where Irenicus had stood as the mage himself disappeared though a magic portal. 

*** 

Irenicus found Yoshimo just where he had left him, pacing tensely back and forth in on of the storage rooms, the door barred from the outside as an added precaution. Yoshimo's hand went to the hilt of his katana the moment he caught sight of the hated mage, but Irenicus only returned the threat with a cold smile. 

"I have one more job for you," Irenicus said. "It seems that it was wise of me not to kill you after all." 

Yoshimo drew his blade. "No more _jobs_, mage," he spat. "No more! I will not be your slave anymore!" 

"As you would have it," Irenicus said. "Let my other slaves slay your beloved. I care not, she will die either way. And so will you, slowly and painfully for violating the geas." With that Irenicus left the room, and strode away, leaving the door open behind him . 

Not long after Irenicus was gone a terrible pain flared up in Yoshimo, tearing, mind-bending pain, but it passed, leaving him weak in the knees. That was his curse. That was the geas. The pain was gone for now, but so long as he delayed in obeying Irenicus' commands it would return again and again, growing ever more intense and ever more frequent, leaving him weaker and weaker, until finally it killed him. The only way he could live would be to kill Brynn, and that was not an option. So the only way to end the pain was to die. 

Yoshimo stared at the open door with a heavy heart for a few long moments before he strode out with a purposeful gait to say good-bye to his love. 

*** 

Brynn stood, watching warily for the arrival of Irenicus' 'servants', as Jaheira tended to her burns. Not far away Anomen and Aerie worked their healing magic -though the were running low- on the rest of the party, preparing them for whatever was next. 

In Minsc's hands Lilarcor was complaining, "If you'd just moved _faster_ we would have got him, you moron. Move your feet next time, you dolt, move your feet!" 

Minsc retorted, sounding irritated, "I _did!_ But _poof! _the mage was gone and I could not give him the butt-kicking he deserved. Blame him for being a coward, not me!" 

"Minsc," Brynn snapped, "stop arguing with the damn sword and keep your eyes open!" 

"You said it, sweet-cheeks," Lilarcor agreed. 

"Shut up!" Brynn snarled. 

Wisely, Lilarcor said nothing else. Brynn was in no mood to put up with the smart-mouth sword. 

How could she have let Irenicus get away? After all that had happened how could she have let him escape like that? She felt the tingle of healing magic for the second time in a short while and her burned skin knit together and became healthy and whole again, but she could have cared less whether or not she was healthy again and out of pain when she had just seen her tormentor escape. She worked the scenario over in her mind as she scanned the room, waiting to see what sort of goons Irenicus was going to throw at her. If only she had been a little faster. If only she had charged him right off instead of taunting him one more time. If only she hadn't been hurt so badly. If only, if only, if only! 

From the corner of her eye she caught a flash of movement at the far end of the room, perhaps the opening of the door, but she saw no one enter. "On your guard," she told Jaheira as she tightening her grip on her katanas. 

Jaheira reached to her side and drew Blackblood, her blue eyes darting around the room. Taking their cue from their leader the other Blades drew their weapons too, and waited in tense silence, focusing all their senses on looking for their attackers. 

Irenicus' servants struck first, gliding out of their hiding places in the shadows of the room. One of the men -Brynn didn't know how many their were; she could count five, but suspected that there were more- tried to drive a dagger into her back, but she shifted to the side quickly enough and brought her katanas up, slashing one blade across the would-be assassin's chest and driving the other into the belly of a second man that seemed to appear out of thin air to her right. Both men let out gurgling cries and slid the floor to lie in pools of their own blood. Brynn moved on, her gaze flitting around the room. Behind Aerie a man left his concealing shadows and raised a dagger, intent on driving the blade into the slender elf's heart. 

"Watch out!" Nalia called to Aerie, warning Aerie just in time for her to step out of the way. Minsc, seeing his witch in danger, dispatched the assassin before he could slide back into the shadows again. 

Imoen raised her bow, and loosed an arrow into an assassin that had somehow managed to disarm Anomen. Brynn saw he fifth man duck into the shadows near Imoen, and sprinted across the room, calling to her sister, "Watch your back, Imoen!" 

Whirling around Imoen managed to catch the man's short sword with her bow and force him back. Brynn reached them not a moment later and attacked. The man managed to deflect her right hand blade as it came in, but the left hand blade got through and sliced deep into his chest. The man stumbled and slid off of Brynn's blade to the floor, and Brynn turned around, leaving the dying man behind. 

It was quiet again, and though she looked, though she listened, Brynn could not sense anyone else in the room. Slowly she lowered her katanas and the rest of the Blades followed suit. 

Too soon! 

Brynn heard Haer'Dalis call out a warning and she started to turn, but it was too late. Close behind her an assassin drew his arm back and drove his dagger toward her spine. She started to bring her blades up, but she could not move fast enough, nor turn enough, and though the idea flashed briefly through her mind she knew she could not drop down and save herself, the dagger would only find its mark between her eyes as she turned to face her attacker. Not more than a second before the dagger would have struck the assassin stopped suddenly, a queer expression coming over his scarred and ugly visage. A stream of blood flowed down the man's neck, issuing from a gaping wound the cause of which was apparent. A full six inches of steel blade protruded from the middle of the assassin's throat. Weakly the dying man reached up and felt the blade before his hands fell away and the blade was withdrawn. The corpse tumbled to the floor and Brynn stood with wide eyes as she beheld her rescuer. 

Yoshimo gave her an uneven smile and sheathed his katana and for the first time since being taken to the lower levels Brynn felt something other than rage and emptiness. She felt her lower lip tremble as she put her own katanas in their scabbards and crossed the few steps to Yoshimo, who caught her in a tight embrace, holding her tight against his chest. A clean feeling of relief filled every corner of Brynn's being. Everything would be all right now, she reassured herself. 

"Are you all right?" Brynn asked, loosening her arms so that she could look up into his eyes. 

Yoshimo nodded. "I am well enough," he said quietly. 

Something was wrong, Brynn could sense it. Something in Yoshimo's eyes told her that he was far from 'well enough'. "Well," she breathed, leaning her head back against his chest and willing her sudden fears away, "well, so long as you're all right." She forced a laugh. "Just like you promised we'll both be leaving this place together." 

From across the room Anomen shouted, "Are you daft? It's all just another one of the mage's tricks." Brynn looked over her shoulder, and Anomen paused under the assault her glare. He jabbed a finger at Yoshimo, and continued, "That man _betrayed_ us all, and you are fooling yourself if you think that we can all simply walk out of this place and pretend that he did not!" 

Brynn started to protest but Yoshimo cut her off. "Anomen is correct," he said. 

Brynn looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? We're all leaving here together, I'm not leaving anyone behind no matter what!" 

"You may not have a choice," Yoshimo replied. He swallowed hard and looked at Brynn with a resigned expression. "Irenicus sent me to kill you." 

"Then why...?" Brynn began, her mind and heart in turmoil. 

"The geas," Yoshimo said. He reached out and touched her cheek with one hand. "I could never raise my blade against you, _aijin_, but the geas still binds me, and there are consequences for refusing the commands I was given." 

"What... what do you mean?" Brynn asked. A chill of dread ran up her spine. 

"I am going to die," Yoshimo said simply 

Brynn looked at him, searching his dark, almond shaped eyes for some sign of hope, but she found none. He was resigned, and there nothing in his voice or expression that suggested a reason to believe that things would turn out all right in the end. Brynn's hands trembled and she leaned against his shoulder, suddenly sobbing. 

"No! There has to be a way!" she protested, wracking her numbed brain for anything that could help. "The Priestess of Umberlee up in Baldur's Gate still owes me a favor, she could..." 

Yoshimo pressed his lips against her forehead and held her tightly. "There is no time," he said. "I will be dead within a tenday. If there was a chance that we could make it to the Gate in that time... _aijin_, I would be the first to take it, but it is too far, and there is not enough time." 

"Then what... what am I supposed to do?" Brynn cried. "I can't just let you die! I won't!" 

"This has to end here," Yoshimo said, as calm and collected as if he were reading off a list, or the title of a book instead of telling her that he was going to die. How could he _be_ so calm? How could he just accept what was going on? The simple answer, and Brynn knew it even as she fought it, was because he had no choice. "You don't understand the geas, it is more powerful than I am. I have fought it for this long, but it is agony, as if my veins have been filled with molten stone. I will not die like that," he said, for the first time speaking louder than an intimate whisper, "not sweat-drenched and to weak to even cry out, to weak to even see you at my side." 

"So you're just going to kill yourself?" Brynn demanded, hoping to appeal to his sense of honor and make him see some sense. There had to be a way, she told herself over and over again. There had to be away! And yet a little voice in her head quietly and calmly put the facts out and told her that there wasn't a way. She fought it. "You told me a long time ago that you wouldn't die without honor, but there's no honor in taking your own life, not like this, not just to escape pain." 

"I know," he said softly, "but if you will grant me one last request I will die as I have tried to live." 

Brynn knew what he meant, and the mere thought of the _thought_ of it made her stomach clench up into knots of fear and misery. He was asking her to do it. He knew he was going to die painfully, horribly, and if he ended his own life it would strip him of his honor, so he was asking _her _to kill him. A final request that she would rather die than have to grant, but not one she could easily deny him either. 

"No," she said, speaking just as softly as he had. And then louder, her voice cracking through the hard knot in her throat, "_No!_ You can't ask... I could n... never..." she heaved a great sob, unable to say anything more. 

A horrible numbness crept into her body, and a deep, primal tremor coursed through her, as if the floor was crumbling away beneath her feet. She _could_, and she had to. Perhaps if her soul had still been intact she would have been able to fight for longer, to argue with him until either she won or she ran out of arguments, but she was tired. There were no other choices, even if she were to continue to fight that awful truth out loud she could recognize it now; she _had_ recognized it before. Perhaps if her soul had been intact the part of her that screamed out against what she had to do would have somehow won her over. Now, however, she could see the folly of that, and she ignored the denials that were shouted within her. 

Brynn Trueblade knew what she had to do, she accepted it even, but that did not lessen the grief she felt, nor did it ease the ache that grief left in her heart. 

She clung to Yoshimo for a moment longer before she tilted her chin up and kissed him longingly. She could taste her own tears on his lips, and her sorrow and pain welled up until it felt like her heart would be sundered by the weight of it. 

Finally she pulled away, brushing her lips across his cheek one more time. She took the time to memorize his features, to ingrain him in her mind one last time, and then she laced her fingers in his and backed out to arms length. Numbly she reached down with her right hand and closed her fingers around the hilt of her katana, the one she had found in Candlekeep as a child. The room was entirely silent save for the sound of the steel blade sliding against the lacquered wood of its scabbard. With a final rasp the blade came free and she brought the point up level with Yoshimo's heart. She squeezed his hand and looked to him one last time, her vision blurred with tears, to see if he was still resolved. Yoshimo smiled a bitter-sweet, loving smile, and let go of her hand. 

Quickly, before her courage and the numbness fled, Brynn took the katana in a white-knuckled, two-handed grip, and thrust the blade forward. She felt the blade slice through skin and flesh and it seemed almost as if it were her own flesh. She opened her eyes, not even aware that she had closed them, and withdrew the blade. A gout of blood followed and Yoshimo stumbled and fell. The katana dropped from Brynn's fingers and she caught Yoshimo as he fell, cradling him against her chest all the way to the cold, broken tiles. With a trembling hand Yoshimo reached up and touched Brynn's cheek, wiping the tears from her eyes with the last of his strength. 

"I love you," Brynn murmured. "I will always love you." 

Yoshimo smiled, a trickle of blood running out of the corner of his mouth, and then he closed his eyes, his hand falling away from Brynn's cheek, and then he was still. 

*** 

To Be Continued 

*** 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

The lights are already up on stage, and Blue is sitting, box of kleenex in hand, on the edge of the stage. She blows her nose loudly and quickly wipes her eyes. 

"Well, I'm glad you're here, because any more time alone to think and I'd've been bawling my eyes out," she says. It looks like she's already _been_ bawling her eyes out. "It's so hard to write sad parts... makes me all teary and stuff." She wipes her eyes again and puts on her business face. "Enough of that! For those of you who wanted Yoshimo to get out of Spellhold alive... I'm sorry guys, I really am, but part of why I was orignally so enthusiastic about the idea of this story so much was the tragic romance. I really struggled to write this part because I wanted to keep things as realistic as possible, but still accomplish what I needed to plot-wise, if things didn't mesh well I welcome your suggestions to making things better. On a less mushy note, I hope the battle with Irenicus came out well I tried to make is as good as I could. I'm beginning to see why you're only allowed a party of six (protaganist included) with more you'd just whomp all over the baddies, but the way I figure it looking at it from the character's point of view, the more allies the better. Finding the happy medium between the two is sort of hard and Irenicus may have come out either too weak or too strong. Once again, any advice -especially specific things- would be of great help in case of revision." 

Blue rubs her hands together thoughtfully and looks as if she is trying to remember something she wanted to say. "Hmm..." she murmurs. "Oh yeah, I wanted to thank Death Knight's Crowbar for the kind review I was left. It's nice to know people care about my AP tests other than me." Blue smiles, a little embarrassed. "Do I really have screaming fans? Things like that will go to my head if I'm not careful! Please tell me if I glossed over the battle too much, these things can be fixed if I know they need to be fixed. To all you other wonderful reviewer-types out there I send a much overdue 'thank you.'" With that Blue stands up, tucks her box of kleenex under her arm and waves good-bye, and the stage lights go out. 


	15. Lament

*** 

Chapter 15: 

Lament 

*** 

From behind a screening outcrop of rock Saemon Havarian watched the Blades of Honor bury their fallen comrade. He had considered paying the Blades a visit as soon as they went to leave Spellhold, but he had seen their faces and chosen to wait. Sometimes, grief could be an asset in making a bargain, but he realized that this was not one of those times, and that Brynn Trueblade was teetering on the brink of either violent insanity or catatonia. 

He waited until the last stone had been place on the cairn and the Blades were headed toward Brynnlaw to make his presence known, and even then he wondered if it might not be wiser to wait until logical, rather than emotion, held sway over the group. Still, he mustered up his courage and caught up to the Blades at the edge of the town just as the sun had almost set. 

Anger flashed in the eyes of the mouthy druid and the halfling paladin wannabe as well as those of the arrogant knight. Remembering his throbbing nose -not for the first time since running into the Blades inside Spellhold- Saemon looked to Brynn to gauge her reaction. No anger touched that one's gaze, nothing, not even curiosity could be seen in her expression, only emptiness. 

"What do you want?" Brynn Trueblade asked, her voice as empty as her eyes. 

Saemon, for the first time in a long time, couldn't seem to find the right words. Funny, he had had this conversation all planned out not a moment before, but seeing the blank look Brynn was giving him -giving the whole world- was enough to steal the words from his usually golden tongue. 

"I'm sorry," he said a little lamely. He was surprised to find that he was indeed sorry. He wetted his lips and continued, "I'm ashamed to say that I bear some responsibility for what happened today, and I would like to try to repay a fraction of the debt I owe you." 

"How?" Brynn asked in a flat voice. "What could you do that would _ever_ repay me, even a little bit." Her fingers flexed and opened again and her hands seemed to move toward her katanas. "And are you sure you'd like the payment I'd exact?" Her voice raised to a shout and all of a sudden a fire lit her eyes. To say the least, Saemon found this all a little disturbing, and he came to realize that Brynn was right now more volatile than even Irenicus. 

"I offer you passage," Saemon replied. He gave her an apologetic smile, but she brushed it aside as easily as a dragon might brush aside a fly. "And I offer you information," he added. "Irenicus' reward was not what I was promised, and I held no love for the wizard even before that. I'll give you passage on my ship to where ever you want to go and all the information I've got on Irenicus, no cost." 

"Why?" Brynn asked, cold and empty again. 

That simple question through Saemon through a loop. The business reason was that he needed the Blades to help him secure a new ship -his had been sunk by the jealous Desharik, damn the man- though he wouldn't mention that _yet_. The personal reason was that he felt a sense of duty to help the Blades at least this much. It was in his best interests anyway. 

"I'd rather be your ally than Irenicus'," he said, "and for my part in this catastrophe I am truly sorry. If you'd rather not have my help..." He let that hang in the air, taking the risk that she might not take him up on his offer. 

Brynn looked at him with those flat, empty eyes of hers, and he could almost feel her looking straight into his soul. He wondered what she would find there. "Fine," she said at last. 

Saemon didn't let his relief show, not a bit. "Well then," he said, throwing a little jaunty cheer into his voice, "what do you say we meet at the tavern in a few hours and then be off?"  
"Fine," Brynn repeated. 

Saemon turned around, feeling oddly out of sorts. He walked quickly down the dirt and gravel path into the port, and at the edge of the first white-stucco walled building, he glanced back over his shoulder. The last of the setting sun caught Brynn's blank expression, lighting up the tear tracks on her cheeks so that they sparkled. Quickly he continued down the path and around the corner of a building. He could feel Brynn's eyes following him all the way, and though he tried, he could not wipe the image of her face from his mind. 

*** 

Imoen hesitated, hand held up to the door to Brynn's cabin, unsure about how she should go about talking to Brynn. Something had to be said, had to be done, Imoen and all the others agreed on that much, but _what_ that something was none of them could say. A unanimous decision had made Imoen the one to try to coax Brynn out of her grief-stricken haze, partly because Imoen had known Brynn for the longest, and partly -though it had gone unsaid to spare Imoen the reminder- because Imoen too had had her soul stripped from her. Imoen could commiserate with the woman without seeming trite and insensitive. That was the plan at least. Imoen had a feeling that it wasn't going to work all that well. Hence the hesitation. 

At last she bit her lip and rapped her knuckles lightly on the wooden door. As she waited for a response Imoen felt the ship lurch under her feet as it crashed over a wave or whatnot, and was nearly thrown off of her feet. Steadying herself against the door frame with one hand, Imoen lifted the other and knocked again, a little louder this time. 

There was no reply. 

In all honesty Imoen wasn't surprised. 

Gingerly she opened the door a crack and looked in. Brynn sat at a table on the opposite side of the small, but lavishly appointed cabin -Havarian's cabin, given up to Brynn in order to appease the suave corsair's crooked sense of honor, Imoen thought. She was looking out the small round porthole, oblivious to Imoen's presence. 

"Heya," Imoen ventured. 

Brynn didn't even turn her head to look, and so Imoen came the rest of the way into the room and closed the door quietly behind her. 

"Heya," she repeated, taking a seat on the bunk next to the table. 

Brynn looked at Imoen out of the corner of her eyes, shifting only a fraction in her chair. "Hello," she mumbled. 

"I thought I'd come in and see how you were..." Imoen began nervously. "So... um... how are you?" 

Brynn said nothing. She blinked once, slowly, and shifted her gaze back to the porthole. 

Imoen winced. "That good huh?" she said, forcing a laugh and it ended with a sigh. "I know the feeling. All cold and... empty, but I guess... I guess you get used to it after a while, and we'll find Irenicus you know. Everything will be all right then, don't you think?" She tried to smile. "Don't you think?" she prompted again. 

Only the slapping of the water against the sides of the ship and the creak of the boards answered her. 

"No," Brynn said suddenly, "I don't think. Are you a fool?" 

Imoen rocked back in the bunk, more due to her shock at Brynn's words than the shifting of the boat. "I'm sorry," Imoen murmured. "I didn't mean..." 

"Of _course_ you didn't," Brynn bit out sarcastically. She turned in her chair and slid her legs out from under the table. Icy hot Rage burned in Brynn's blue eyes and for the first time ever Imoen felt a little afraid of her dearest friend and sister. "Why are you here?" 

"B... because I wanted to see how you were," Imoen stammered. She resisted the urge to edge away, knowing that it would only make Brynn angrier. 

"Pardon me if I don't believe you," Brynn bit out. "You of all people should know better. Unless you're just stupid." 

"Brynn, please..." Imoen started to protest. 

"'Please' what?" Brynn demanded. "'Please stop?' What do you want from me, Imoen? Why are you here right now?" 

"We're worried about you," Imoen said, trying to look Brynn in the eyes. 

Brynn snorted and looked away. "You mean you're worried about what you're going to do if I'm not sane enough to protect you all," she growled. 

"That's not true!" Imoen blurted out, stung by the accusation and the fury and pain in Brynn's voice. "Everyone is really concerned about you! They know how much you cared about..." 

"Shut up!" Brynn screamed, standing up all of a sudden and looming over Imoen. Imoen shied away, bumping her head against the wall. "None of them know _anythin_g_!_ _You_ don't know anything!" 

Imoen slithered out of the bunk and stood up. She stood a full three inches taller than Brynn, but she felt tiny despite it. "I know that you're hurting," she said. "I know how you feel..." 

"You don't know how I feel!" Brynn snarled. "Neither you or any of the others know because I've done everything in my power to keep you safe. Ever since we left Candlekeep I've been there, making sure that you can keep your little hands clean, and because of that I've been _bathed_ in gore. You feel cold and empty? What do you know? My blood _-our father's blood-_ is _singing_ to me. It's crying out for me to lop off your pretty little head. I gave up my innocence so that you could keep yours and _this_ is the price I'm paying for it! I _wish_ I just felt cold and empty!" 

"That's not fair!" Imoen retorted, a little angry herself now. "You're just mad and looking for someone to lash out at other than yourself! 'Oh woe is me,'" she mocked. "'I killed the man I love so now everyone has to watch out so I don't take out my guilt on them!'" Imoen knew as soon as the words had left her mouth that she had gone to far. She didn't see Brynn's fist, only felt her head snap back and jaw explode with pain. She slammed hard against the deck, seeing white spots before her eyes. She blinked several times to clear her vision and levered herself up on her elbows. 

Brynn stood over her, hand still raised, but all the anger was gone. In its place was an expression of pure horror. Imoen scrambled to her feet ignoring how lightheaded she felt and hastened to wrap her sister in a warm hug. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Brynn repeated over and over again. 

Imoen shushed her and smoother her hair with one hand. "No, it's okay," she said gently. "I... I crossed a line I shouldn't have. It's okay Brynn, I'm all right." 

Brynn trembled uncontrollably and Imoen had to help her to the bunk and sit her down, afraid that her legs would come out from under her and she would tumble to the deck. "It hurts," Brynn whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. Tears trickled down her cheeks and she struggled to draw a deep breath. "It hurts so much." 

Imoen felt her throat tighten up, and she held Brynn a little tighter. "It's okay," she said gently. "It's all going to be okay." 

For some reason, Imoen felt like she was lying. 

*** 

To Be Continued 


	16. Risks

*** 

Chapter 16: 

Risks 

*** 

A hush lay over the tavern as the slender female strode into the monster pit, her hands resting on the hilts of her strange surface weapons. Around the tall, magically enchanted steel mesh walls of the pit a score of drow, males and females of many ranks, stood in eager anticipation. The Pit Master, Szordrin, wetted his thin lips, his red eyes glinting in the dim tavern light, and worked hard to keep a grin off of his angular, ebony-hued face. This would be an excellent fight. 

Then again, every one the newly-arrived Veldrin's battles had been excellent. She was truly an impressive female; both ruthless and skilled, not to mention the new pet warrior of house Despana's priestess Phaere. Within a day of arriving in Ust Natha Veldrin had managed to ally herself with the most powerful house in the city, another feather in the female's hat. Those who knew Veldrin by her true name, Brynn Trueblade, were not so impressed by her displays of cunning. 

It didn't seem possible, but when the shape an ancient beholder materialized in the pit the crowd around the outside of the walls seemed to grow even more silent than before. 

'Veldrin' smiled tightly and drew her katanas. Her quicksilver cloak danced about her shoulders as she swiftly crossed the distance between herself and the beholder. She was so graceful that she seemed almost to be gliding across the floor instead of walking. The beholder saw her coming -how could it not with all those eyes!- and turned to face her, bringing to bear its impressive array of magical attacks, not mention its equally impressive mouthful of long, razor sharp teeth. The monster's central eye focused on its attacker and blasted a ray at her to remove what ever spell protections she might have had. Unfortunately for the beholder Brynn hadn't had any spells cast on her before the battle started, but she _did_ have a Cloak of Mirroring -obtained by dispatching a number of irritatingly violent Shahuagin- and all that happened was the anti-magic ray bounced off the protective cloak right back at the beholder. Of course, since it was protected already by a anti-magic field around the bulk of its globular body, the ray did nothing to the beholder either other than surprise it a bit. That was enough to give Brynn the advantage. 

She ducked to the right of the creature, made a feint at its central eye with her right hand blade, and then crossed the left hand blade over her torso to cut cleanly through one of the beholder's eyestalks. The beholder roared, angry at the stupid little drow that had dared to attack it, and snapped at Brynn's head with its toothy maw. Brynn dropped to the ground, twisting as she went down so that she landed on her stomach, and then came to her feet again directly beneath the beholder's hovering body. Up came another katana, and a second eyestalk plopped to the ground with a sickening _splat_. The beholder roared again and tried to maneuver itself so that it could take aim at Brynn with one of its remaining eyestalks, but Brynn stayed directly beneath it, and the two eyes that came within reach of her blades joined the other two on the floor. 

Not wanting to impale itself on Brynn's katana's in an attempt to squash her by simply dropping its entire mass onto her head, the beholder made a smart choice and rose up higher in the air until it came in contact with the barrier that closed off the top of the pit. Now it aimed its ray-shooting eyes at its latest and most irritating challenger. A beam shot out from one of its topmost eyes, but it too bounced of Brynn's Cloak of Mirroring, and right back at the furious beholder. The beholder gave up on its apparently useless gaze attacks and went for something a little more blunt. It dived down from its place near the ceiling and moved to plow right into Brynn. 

Brynn scooted to one side at the last second and the beholder ran 'face' first into the pillar that ran to the ceiling from the center of the pit. Laughing, Brynn then slid in again and sliced off another two of the beholder's eyestalks. Now the creature was down to four of its original ten eyestalks, and it was also bleeding badly from the six stumps where the other eyes had been. And Brynn had yet to even be hit. 

Feeling a little cocky, Brynn made a show of taking off the Cloak of Mirroring and tossing it to the ground. "This is not a fair test of my abilities," she said in explanation. 

Outside of the pit, Jaheira muttered, "Fool," to herself and narrowed her eyes. 

The beholder also saw Brynn's mistake and sought to use that mistake to its own advantage. Rumbling gleefully in anticipation of its victory, the beholder turned about and faced Brynn again... only to find that she wasn't where she had been a moment ago. Brynn had slipped off to one side of the pillar, using the bulk of the stone to hide herself from the beholder's sight. Cautiously the beholder poked one of its eyestalks around the pillar to see what was on the other side, and for its efforts lost another eye. Dazed, hurt and angry the beholder attacked, coming fully around the pillar... only to find that Brynn had snuck off again, coming around to where the beholder had been before. The look of confusion and irritation on the beholder's hideous face elicited a few laughs from the watching drow. 

The beholder decided enough was enough. It was infinitely smarter than the stupid little dark elf that it was chasing and it should have caught the slippery little inferior being by now. It rotated, and choosing to attack silently this time, it charged around the pillar. Right into the tips of Brynn's waiting katanas. It hovered for a moment, one of its three remaining eyestalks snaking around to look at the two katanas that had been thrust deep into its body cavity, and then its central eye rolled back into its huge head and the beholder fell to the ground, the weight of its body forcing the katanas to tear through flesh a bone until the came free through to top of the beholder's skull. Gore spilled out all over the floor of the pit, but Brynn paid in no more attention than it took to avoid slipping in a sloppy pile of brain tissue as she walked over to retrieve her cloak. 

Dumbfounded, Szordrin opened up the gate to the pit as the crowd, grown from twenty to nearly fifty during the course of the battle, shouted their approval. Brynn affected a properly drow expression as she accepted a towel from a human slave and used it to wipe off her blades before putting them back in their scabbards. She gathered her friends together and took a seat at one of the tavern's tables, ordering a round the house brew for the Blades. 

The crowd around the pit diminished and more slaves came to clean up the mess Brynn had left behind. A few moments later Szordrin approached Brynn's table, a bag of coins in his hand. 

"A _most_ excellent battle!" the Pit Master exclaimed, his red eyes glittering in excitement. "Here is your reward," he continued, putting the bag of gold on the table in front of Brynn, "I will have to go to the pens to see if I cannot find an opponent more worthy of your considerable skill! Never have I seen an Eye Tyrant look so terrified or angry!" 

Brynn waved her hand for Jaheira to pick up the gold and tuck it away somewhere safe. "I am pleased that I have gotten the chance to keep my skills polished in your arena." 

"If you please, most honorable female, you might speak with Sondal if you are looking for a further challenge," Szordrin said. 

"Who?" Brynn asked. 

"The Master of the Dueling Pit," Szordrin replied, gesturing with one slender ebony hand to the round, metal cage on the far side of the common room from the Monster Pit. Szordrin's smile was a chilling one, and it reminded many of the Blades just what sort of people they were dealing with. Brynn met his cruel grin with one of her own, unaffected by his words of his demeanor. "Many a drow would challenge you since you have defeated an Eye Tyrant single handed. I know of over a dozen who would fight you just to prove who was the superior swordswoman." 

"Then let the challenges come," Brynn said, lifting her glass to Szordrin, who nodded in that sort of submissive manner that drow males had when around drow females. "You can leave now," she said imperiously. "Attend to finding me more monstrous foes." 

Szordrin bowed politely and headed off, shouting directions at the slaves who were cleaning up the monster pit. 

"Let the challenges come," Brynn repeated to herself in a whisper. "If I have to kill every man woman and child in this godforsaken city to get at Irenicus, so be it." 

*** 

An hour after the battle in the monster pit seven of the nine Blades of Honor were settled into their comfortable quarters on the tavern's third floor. 

"She is taking too many risks!" Jaheira growled, free to say what she wanted because of the wards against scrying Aerie had put up around the room. "It was foolish enough to face a beholder by herself, but without the Cloak of Mirroring to protect her? She is putting us all in danger with her actions!" 

"Please calm yourself," Mazzy said, folding her hands in her lap. She frowned for a moment and couldn't help marveling at the slenderness of her fingers and their ebony hue, not to mention the fact that she was sitting in a chair sized just right for an elf and her feet were flat on the floor and not dangling a nine inches above it. She shook her head and continued, "surely, Brynn _is_ acting rashly, but she has yet to falter." 

"Yet. _Yet_," Jaheira reminded the halfling. "She has _yet_ to falter. What happens when one of her suicidal risks actually gets her killed?" 

"Ooh," Minsc groaned, shaking his head forlornly, "poor little Brynn!" 

"Poor us you idiot!" Jaheira snapped. Minsc looked up, a little hurt by Jaheira's sharp words. 

"I do not think we need worry so much," Anomen broke in. "Certainly her behavior is... disturbing, but it is only because she is trying to play the part of a drow. She is doing a fine job of it." 

"I think she might be doing _too_ fine a job," Nalia said quietly. All eyes were on her in a second and she swallowed hard before she continued, "I mean, if Solaufein hadn't gone back to the city she would had slaughtered that deep gnome patrol. I think maybe she's fitting in a little too well here in Ust Natha." 

"She likes it because she doesn't have to feel here," Aerie remarked, having a flash of intuition. "She gets to pretend to be a drow and forget who Brynn Trueblade is, and it's a relief to her." 

"Yeah?" muttered Nalia, "well _I'm_ not very relieved." 

"Neither am I," Aerie agreed quietly. 

"I doubt she would even care," Jaheira remarked. "She is down in the common room right now getting so drunk that no doubt Haer'Dalis will have to carry her up the stairs. If she continues like this I am not sure whether or not we will be able to allow her to continue to lead us." She looked around the room at her companions, her expression completely serious. 

"What are you saying?" Mazzy asked cautiously. 

"I am saying that if it becomes necessary one of us may have to take over as leader of the Blades, at least until Brynn regains her balance," Jaheira said. 

"What if she never does?" Imoen said, speaking for the first time. The young woman was standing in one of the corners of the room, her unnaturally red eyes shining like pinpoints of light from the shadows. The rest of the Blades suppressed an involuntary shiver with varying degrees of success. Imoen, they were suddenly reminded, was Brynn staunchest supporter and would likely be hard to sway in favor of an insurrection, no matter how temporary. 

"If she continues on as she has for the past week I fear that she will become even more of a danger to the world than Irenicus ever was," Jaheira said grimly. "She has the power to tip the balance to either good or evil, and though I hope she will not do either, if she turns toward the path of darkness I do not think than anyone will be able to stand in her way." 

Imoen nodded. "I understand." 

*** 

The next day found the Blades in the Female Fighters' Society in front of one of the most powerful women in Ust Natha, their patron Phaere Despana. The female drow was tall for her kind, nearly five and a half feet tall, and with a shapely figure suggested beneath her dark violet robes. She was certainly a beautiful woman, but the cruelty in her luminescent red eyes gave her a decidedly dangerous look. 

"Excellent," Phaere said, a cold smile turning up the corners of her lips ever so slightly, "you have arrived on time." 

Brynn bowed and then straightened again, making sure not to look Phaere in the eyes lest the volatile woman take offense. She might have been taking more risks lately, but she could not risk earning Phaere's enmity, not if she wanted to get out of Ust Natha and find Irenicus. "What do you desire of me?" she asked, appropriately polite. 

Phaere's smile seemed to grow even colder. "I am sure you are aware by now of the... situation between Solaufein and myself." 

Brynn nodded, she had indeed heard a few rumors that had hinted at the cause for the deeply held anger between the two drow. 

"And you must also know that I cannot strike out against him, though his insolence has earned him his death many times over by now, because he has gained the support of another powerful house." 

Brynn nodded again. 

"You, on the other hand," Phaere continued almost casually, "you are free to do as you please. House Despana has not officially become your sponsor yet, so if you were to eliminate that troublesome male for me there would be no repercussions to House Despana." 

"And the repercussions to us?" Brynn inquired. "If we are not allied with any house we can not claim the protection of any house either." 

Phaere waved a dismissive hand. "That has already by taken into consideration. So, Veldrin of Ched Nasad, are you going to kill Solaufein for me?" 

Brynn understood the implied threat in Phaere's words. If she didn't agree Phaere would have the Blades killed before they could take word of the assassination attempt to Solaufein in hopes of currying favor with his sponsors. So Brynn smiled a cruel, conniving little smile and said, "The male dog will be dead within the hour." 

"Excellent," Phaere repeated. "Most of the males are out on patrol right now, and the Male Fighters' Society will be empty of all except Solaufein, whom I ordered to stay behind. You will be able to kill him without witnesses. The corpse must be disposed of, so for evidence that the deed has been done bring me Solaufein's piwafwi cloak, I know it well." 

Brynn bowed again. "Of course," she said compliantly. 

"Good. Now be gone! I will await your return here. Mind you, be back with the cloak before three hours have past or suffer the consequences." 

"Of course," Brynn said again. She bowed one last time, and then signaled for the rest of the Blades to follow her out. 

The walk to Solaufein's quarters at the Male Fighters' Society was a short one. The fact that none of the Blades voiced their misgivings about what they were about to do was a sign of how imperative it was for them to keep up the illusion that they were drow. If that restraint had not been there no doubt many of the Blades would have been clamoring to point out to Brynn that killing Solaufein was wrong. Then again, had she not had to act like a drow Brynn wouldn't have agreed to kill Solaufein in the first place. At least that was what Brynn's companions hoped. 

Brynn waited until the street out side of the Male Fighters' Society was clear before ushering the Blades into the building and shutting the door tightly behind them. Solaufein was sitting at one of the tables in the Society's dome-roofed common room. He seemed restless, and the moment he saw the Blades enter the room he stood up and took a few steps toward them. 

"Greetings," he said, frowning. He paused for a moment, and then stated simply, "You have not come as a friend." 

Brynn shook her head, drawing a sigh from Solaufein. "Phaere sent me to kill you," she replied as evenly as he. 

Shaking his head slowly, a rueful half-smile tugging up the left corner of his mouth, Solaufein said, "I knew this was coming. Well then, draw your strange blades, mighty Veldrin, let us end this as warriors." He reached for his own sword as he finished. 

"We could finish this as friends yet," Brynn mentioned quietly, causing Solaufein to stop suddenly and the Blades to look at their leader in surprise. Brynn smiled a little at their confusion. And she frowned a little too. She continued, "Phaere sent me to kill you, but I have no desire to draw your blood. I also have no desire to help that bitch of priestess unless it is to send her to her goddess that much sooner. So I offer you the chance to live." 

Solaufein stood silent for a long time, but Brynn was willing to wait as long as she had to. "Who are you, Veldrin of Ched Nasad?" 

Brynn cocked her head to one side. "Do you accept my offer?"  
"Of course," Solaufein replied, regarding her with open curiosity. "Who are you?" he asked again. 

"My name is Brynn Trueblade, and I am no drow," Brynn said. 

"Brynn... er... Veldrin!" Jaheira hissed in Brynn's ear. She was over being happily surprised that Brynn had decided to let Solaufein live and now officially annoyed that Brynn had so quickly thrown away their cover. 

Brynn held up one hand to silence Jaheira and went on while the druid fumed. "I am a half-elf from the surface, and I've come here in search of a mage that has taken something precious from me. I know the mage has fled to the surface, but the only means I have of following him is by retrieving the eggs that your people stole from the silver dragon, Adalon." 

"This mage must have taken something very precious from you indeed," Solaufein decided. 

"My soul," Brynn told him. Very quietly she added, "And other things, more dear even than that." 

Solaufein raised one white eyebrow, but did not question her statement. "How will you prove my death to Phaere?" he asked instead. 

"Your cloak," Brynn said, holding out one hand. 

Solaufein frowned a little but removed the cloak from his shoulders and handed it to Brynn, saying, "A fair trade for my life, I believe." 

Brynn nodded. "Make haste with your escape," she told him. "I wouldn't mind meeting you again, but not if it's when we're both hanging by our toenails." 

"Indeed," Solaufein agreed. "I will wait until after you have left, and then vanish from the city. I wish you well, Vel... Brynn Trueblade." 

"Good luck to you too," Brynn said. With that she turned away and led the Blades back out onto the street. 

*** 

To Be Continued 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

Hello all! No creative host for this author's note, it's late and I'm cranky. Well, I'm not really cranky, but it is late. I'm going to Florida for spring break, which is the sort of thing that might make most people very happy, but for me it entails spending my vaction in my grandparent's condominium surrounded on all sides by sisteen floors of people over the age of fifty. I dare not go down to the pool in my two-piece suit, all the old farts hit on me. (((eww))) At any rate onto actual notes on the story (as opposed to my personal life). 

As was pointed out to me the last few chapters are lacking my usual ...erm... humor, which is more or less just due to the subject matter. It's hard to make tragic death funny, although if I tried real hard I'm sure I could, but that would ruin the whole tone. Anyway, the funny stuff will return soon and if you must know I plan to do a little series of one-shots that tell the stories of the things the cast of BGII wouldn't want you hearing about. Stay tuned for a sneak peak summary of two of the oddest quests I could think of. 

Elbress brought up the subject of the whole cleansing-of-Yoshimo's-heart thing. The way I look at it, my way he died with a pretty cleam heart, so that's all not-necessary. Besides, think about it, carrying someone's heart around in your pack for a few weeks until you can find a temple of Ilmater is well... it would be a highly traumatic -not to mention generally unpleasant experience smell-wise- and since it doesn't _need_ to happen for this story line I think I'll avoid it. And picture this: you're digging around in your pack for that special magical item you need to defeat the nasty something-or-other when your hand latches onto something... squishy... (((eww))) 

So... onto those sneak previews... 

#1: Untitled as of yet 

Synopsis: The skinner murders in the bridge district have been solved, but now a new killer seems to be stalking the local ladies-of-the-evening. The targets aren't just any prostitutes, they're a little strange, as Brynn and the Blades find out when they agree to help solve this latest mystery. The main draw for this story humor-wise can be summed up in three words, 'Anomen in drag'. I laughed my buns of just thinking about it. 

#2: Ball Gowns and Braggarts 

Synopsis: What do you get when you throw a bunch of crusty adventurers into a ballroom full of snobby elites and add in a possible assassination attempt and copious quantities of alcohol? Not to mention a minature giant space hamster down the front of the hostess' dress? The answer is one crazy party! 

#3: The Female Advantage 

Synopsis: Remember how Brynn promised Mazzy she'd tell her sometime about how she stormed the Iron Throne's tower in her underwear? Well, Mazzy's finally decided to get the whole story, and this is it. And you thought Khalid stuttered enough already. 


	17. The Spirit in Battle

*** 

Chapter 17: 

The Spirit in Battle 

*** 

The Priestesses of Lloth -not of sufficient status to attend the ceremony that the Matron Mother Ardulace and her daughter were performing in the ritual chamber, but still important enough to stay within the temple proper itself while the ritual was taking place- were to say the very least shocked and more than a touch offended when the band of newcomers from Ched Nasad were invited to join in the ritual room by none other than the Matron Mother herself. They were again surprised when not more than five minutes after the ritual began those self-same newcomers exited the ritual chamber. To the eyes of a drow, trained since birth almost to sense weakness and discomfort in others and exploit it, the newcomers, under the command of the powerful and enigmatic Veldrin, seemed unusually discomfited. And then the killing began. 

In the guise of Veldrin, Brynn was able to approach one of the priestesses, and the despite the fact that the priestess aware of 'Veldrin's' odd behavior she was the first of the many priestesses in the temple that day to be surprised for a third time when Brynn drew both of her katanas and severed her white-crowned head from her shoulders. The dance of death had begun again for Brynn Trueblade and her companions, and they knew the steps of that dance all too well for their opponents. 

Which isn't to say taking down a temple full of Lloth's priestesses was easy for the Blades, it just wasn't as hard as the drow thought it ought to have been. Besides which, they weren't on a purge mission. The way Brynn looked at it they had to get to the door and if one of the priestesses happened to be unlucky enough to stand between her and that door she was willing to do a little blood letting to get there. Of course that caught the attention of the other drow in the temple, not just the priestesses, but the warriors that helped guard it as well, and pretty soon the whole place was a mess. 

Not easy, no, but not hard either. 

Outside the temple Brynn called a quick halt, pulled a piece of cloth from out of her belt pouch, and wiped the blood off of her blades before sheathing them again. At the same time Aerie and Anomen worked together to put a seal on the temple doors, preventing the remaining drow inside from getting out and warning the others. 

"Make yourselves presentable," Brynn ordered with a sly grin. "I don't intend on starting anymore fights, some of these guys aren't that bad well, no some aren't as bad as the rest well no, they all are pretty much evil sons of spiders. Anyway, I'd prefer to get out of this with all my arms and legs still stuck to the rest of me and I assume you'd like the same, so try to act drow for a few more minutes." 

Nods all around accompanied the end of her statement and the rest of the Blades quickly tidied up as best they could. They marched down the streets of Ust Natha just as they always had: their hands on the hilts of their respective weapons, an air of superiority on their assumed dark-elven visages. That is until they were on the platform that housed the gates out of the city, at which point an overly friendly, or perhaps hungry, spider of the monstrous type decided that it wanted Brynn to pet it. 

Now, Brynn, despite her completely understandable moodiness, her grief-stricken depression, and the loss of her soul, had been a pretty good sport as far as spiders were concerned during her stay in Ust Natha. Utter disgust and hatred just sort of overwhelmed her better judgment this time though. Before the spider had the chance to get within a foot of Brynn it was reduced to a leg less blob as both of Brynn's blades swept out and sliced off all of its limbs. The next attack cut the spider into quarters, and the one after that into sixteenths, at which point there really wasn't much left for Brynn to cut up. Other than the legs, which lay flopping about a little on their own like a bunch of giant hard-shelled fuzz-coated caterpillars, the spider had become little more than a puddle of goop and spider guts on the floor of the platform. 

Brynn looked supremely satisfied. 

The half a dozen real drow on the platform looked ready to explode into violence."Methinks we have been discovered, my raven," Haer'Dalis remarked dryly to Brynn as the drow began to close in on them. 

Brynn flicked the spider guts off of her katana. "I've been wanting to do that ever since we got to this lightless little corner of hell," she said. "Hey!" she shouted to the advancing drow, "you sniveling little cowards, attack already, I've got better things to do than stand here and wait for you to work up the courage to do something other than wet yourselves!" 

That did it. Though these drow were mere merchants they could still fight, and they still had the usual drow tendency to overreact to insults. 

"I thought you wanted to get out without anymore trouble!" Jaheira accused Brynn. The two of them stood back to back, fending of their respective opponents. 

Brynn casually parried the incoming attacks her opponent was making. "I changed my mind," she replied. She skewered the male that was attacking her, driving her right hand katana into his throat and out the back of his neck, and a few moments later Jaheira brought Blackblood down on her female opponent's head. The sound of crunching bone signaled the female drow's demise, and Jaheira stepped over the corpse to look for another opponent. She might as well not have worried. The rest of the Blades had pretty much everything in hand. 

Three drow, two males and another female, lay in a circle around Haer'Dalis, Nalia and Aerie. The trio, knowing that magic spells were not as useful against the drow as other enemies, acted as bait while Minsc, Mazzy and Imoen came up from behind and killed the drow. Anomen had easily dispatched his single opponent with a rib-cracking blow to the chest with his mace and a follow up blow to the forehead. "Really, my lady," Anomen said, "do you think this was necessary?" 

Brynn nodded. "We all need to a good fight to get our blood going again." 

Minsc crowed in agreement, "Oh! They will tell tales of this for years to come! We have planted our boots firmly on the buttocks of evil today!" 

"Minsc," Aerie whispered to the tall ranger, "you're raving again." 

"C'mon," Brynn interrupted, "let's get out of here now. We've got eggs to return to a dragon and I doubt she wants to wait any longer." 

"Here, here," Mazzy agreed, not quite as exuberant as her words made her out to be. "And this time might we actually try not to get into a battle on the way there?" 

Brynn took the halfling's gentle chiding in stride. "What she said," Brynn agreed. "Onward!" 

And so onward they went. 

*** 

Solaufein crouched behind a tall stalagmite, waiting. He heard footsteps and indistinct voices approaching from the direction of Ust Natha. Though their words were muffled and blurred by the echoes of the stones he could tell they were speaking the language of his people, the drow. There were two possibilities as to the identities of this group of approaching drow. First, they could be the lady Vel er Brynn and her companions, or second, they could be a party of drow warriors sent to aid the battle that was ongoing between the surface elves and the Ust Nathans in the temple ruins above the city. He sincerely hoped it was the former instead of the latter, because if the footsteps he was hearing belonged to a drow war party the ritual must have been a success, and Brynn Trueblade, the half-elven warrior who had spared his life, was without a doubt, dead. 

At last the party drew closer and Solaufein stepped out from his hiding place. "Hail, be you friend or foe?" he called out in surface common. When he had delivered a second false set of dragon eggs to Brynn and the Blades of Honor the day before Brynn had told him to repeat that phrase if he suspected he had run into her as she left the city. If the call was answered with an attack Solaufein was to suspect, as Brynn had so tastefully put it, "that they aren't us, so you'd better get your ass out of there as fast as you can." 

"Friend," came the reply in undercommon. The glowing blobs that represented the Blades of Honor to Solaufein through his infravision changed and clarified as one of them called forth a spell that lit up the passageway in the normal spectrum of light. 

Solaufein smiled at Brynn. "It is good to see that you have escaped," he said. "For a moment I was concerned that you had not." 

"Have faith in us, Solaufein," Brynn replied jokingly. "We're not that incompetent." She paused. "Where to from here?" 

"For me?" Solaufein asked. 

"Yes, for you," Brynn agreed. "We're headed up and out, I was thinking that you might want to come along." 

Solaufein shook his head though. "No, I am needed down here. This is my home, whether or not it welcomes me, and I am sure there are others down here who see that they have been walking the wrong path as I have. I will make this place safe for them one day, even if I die doing it." 

Brynn raised an eyebrow. "All by yourself?" she inquired. "Solaufein, you're a smart man but sometimes I think you're a total void-brain." Solaufein looked at her, a little surprised, and Brynn continued, "You can't start a revolution with just one man and make it succeed. I know, I've read about this stuff in books, history books that tell just how those revolutions fail and the deaths of their supporters and creators. You need some back up before anything can be done, and the best place to find back up is on the surface." 

It was Solaufein's turn to raise an eyebrow now. "Oh?" he asked. 

"Sure," Brynn said to him confidently. "It might not be support in the form of troops, but it'd be something to start with. If you get backing from the surface, if you can convince someone that overthrowing the drow society is the right thing to do, and not only that, but profitable as well, you'll be a resounding success." 

Solaufein chuckled. "And more importantly, you simply want me to come with you, correct?" 

Brynn shrugged. "I like to keep track of my friends and allies, and I want to make sure you don't die down here trying to incite a coup. Come with us, make some allies on the surface, powerful ones, and then come back in a few decades and start a revolution. If we're all still alive I guarantee the Blades of Honor will help you without so much as a question." 

"All right then," Solaufein said. "If you truly believe this is the tight path, V Brynn Trueblade, I will travel with you for now." 

Brynn smiled. "Great," she said, "now all we have to do is smuggle you past the elves on the surface and we're set." 

Suddenly Solaufein was wondering if this was actually such a good idea after all. 

*** 

The Blades plus one delivered the dragon's eggs back to their mother, Adalon, who was overjoyed at seeing her 'babies' back again. She didn't act like it of course, not overly at least, but the way the caressed the eggshells when she transformed into her human form was indicative of her happiness. The silver dragon in a woman's body gave Solaufein a cold stare, but Brynn quickly explained the situation, citing Solaufein's invaluable assistance in recovering the eggs, and Adalon looked considerably less like she wanted to turn back into her natural form and bite the drow male in two. However, she didn't seem to like him much more either. 

Despite her dislike of Solaufein, however, Adalon stayed true to her agreement and in addition to showing the Blades the way out of the underdark, gave them a substantial reward. After Adalon's departure from the group the Blades had a few minor scuffles with stragglers from the main drow attack force as well as a couple of rearguard troops, but nothing major, and certainly nothing they couldn't handle. 

The last skirmish involved not only drow, but surface elves as well, and nearly turned into a disaster. As soon as all the attacking drow were dispatched the elves turned to the strangers in their midst and spotted Solaufein. 

One of the elves nearest the newest member of the Blades of Honor, young, green as grass, and filled with anger at the drow, started to attack, but Brynn got their first and disarmed the young soldier."Hold it!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "We're friends!" 

"Friends?" the young soldier demanded, his melodic elven voice was twisted with hate. "What friends of the elves travels with a drow?" 

Meanwhile the commander of this elven force signaled to his troops to stand down for the moment. "His question is a valid one," said the commander in a cold voice. "I would like to hear an answer." 

"Solaufein is a good man," Brynn said, wincing as she realized just how corny that sounded. "We have just escaped from the city of Ust Natha after stopping the Matron Mother Ardulace from calling on a most powerful demon to aid the drow in their fight. We would never have succeeded without Solaufein's help." 

"And how can we be sure that you are not lying?" the elven commander asked. 

Brynn faltered and Mazzy spoke up, "There are divinations that can discover the truth. Work your magic on us if you will, she is telling you the truth." 

The elven commander frowned fiercely, his brow scrunching up as he pondered his course of action. At last he ordered, "Drop all of your weapons." And when that had been done he said to his men, "Bind their hands and gag the mages and clerics with them. We will take no chances. Elhan will see them." 

*** 

Elhan, as it turned out, was the general of the elven forces, and he was no less pleased to see Solaufein than his underlings had been, and far more suspicious. That made Solaufein very, very nervous. He couldn't understand a for that was being said, for it was all in the tongue of the surface elves, which he did not know, but the looks on the faces of his surface brethren were enough to make his blood run cold. So, though the surface was strange and bright –painfully so even though they had emerged from the underdark in the middle of a thick forest- Solaufein could not look around in wonder at it for fear of catching the gaze of one of those many pairs of eyes. Instead he looked at his companions, seeing them clearly for the first time since they had regained their natural forms in Adalon's lair. 

They looked so different. The warrior called Minsc was immense, standing well over six feet tall, and the warrior priest Anomen was, though nearly half a foot or more shorter, more than tall enough himself. The one called Mazzy was of all things, a halfling, which Solaufein had only heard about through second hand reports. He found it more than a little odd that a woman with such a strong presence was so small. The mage priest, Aerie was a surface elf, an avariel who strangely lacked her wings. The bard with the strange aura of wrongness, Haer'Dalis, was not so strange to Solaufein, he had seen and heard of tieflings before, but still the man looked a far cry from how he had as an dark elf, from the roots of his blue-gray hair to the soles of his boots. The mage, and as it turned out, amateur thief, Nalia was a human woman, not a striking specimen, but pretty enough with red-gold hair and blue-green eyes. The other mage thief, Imoen, also had red hair and blue eyes, though her hair had more brown and her eyes more gray. The woman Solaufein had assumed to be a simple warrior, Jaheira, was also a druid –a concept that Solaufein wasn't sure he quite understood, having lived in the underdark all his life and so therefore having never seen much of trees and forests- and a half-elf as well. The fact that she was a half-elf just added layers to the strangeness, for Solaufein had seen as many half-elves in his life as he had druids. 

And Brynn she was the strangest of them all it seemed, for he had though he had known her best. Like the warrior druid, Jaheira, Brynn was a half-elf, though she was smaller than many of the female drow Solaufein had seen in Ust Natha and elsewhere in the underdark. Her eyes were blue-gray and speckled with gold, the same gold as the hair that she had bound up in her long braid. Her expression was different too, he noted, like she had dropped a mask other than the one that disguised her as a drow. What was beneath, Solaufein couldn't quite say, but it made him feel sad to look in her eyes. 

Solaufein shook his head and turned his attention to the unintelligible conversation that was occurring between Brynn Trueblade and the elven general Elhan. As far as he could tell, and he couldn't tell much because of the language barrier, things were going well. That is until the general said something that evidently got Brynn's hackles up. 

Then the shouting began 

*** 

Brynn thought that, all things considered, things were going rather well with Elhan. She had answered all of his questions truthfully and politely, even though she had several times considered snapping out a witty retort at the general, and in return Elhan had called off his truth-detecting sages for the time being. The elf had also revealed that the elven army had been trapped out side of Sundanessellar, unable to find their way back into the city. However, aside from that, the fact that Irenicus, whom Elhan had called 'The Exile', had been the one to seal the elven city off, and Bodhi, who had returned to her old haunts in the graveyard district of Athkatla in the meanwhile, had the Rhynn Lanthorn, was all that Elhan was willing to say. Even that Brynn had to drag out of him. 

"As for the dark elf," Elhan was saying in elven, "you may trust him, Brynn Trueblade, but I do not." 

"Yet you trust me, General," Brynn pointed out calmly, also in elven. The rage was gnawing at her again, telling her to just kill Elhan, take the Rhynn Lanthorn and enter the elven city herself. She resisted the urge. All the fighting she had done recently had appeased the rage, at least for a time, but now that she had stopped it had become harder to control her dark blood. "If you trust me, then can you not trust my judgment of Solaufein's reliability?" 

Elhan frowned darkly. "That I have let the drow live this long is testament to my trust in your judgment," he said. "I should have had him killed as soon as I saw him. My trust only goes so far, Brynn Trueblade, even for my own kind, and you are no an elf." 

Brynn swallowed hard, forcing her rage down again. The elves had not said as much until now, but Brynn knew from experience that elves did not consider half-elves to be one of them. To the elves she was more of a half-human, tainted by the human side of her bloodline. The prejudice angered her, but she could endure it. What would they do, she wondered, if they knew I was the child of Bhaal? 

"Then what do you suggest?" Brynn asked as soon as she was sure her anger would not show in her voice. 

"My sages are capable of casting a spell on him to ensure his loyalty. A geas" 

Elhan had barely finished the word 'geas' when Brynn shouted, "No!" 

The elven general regarded Brynn with surprised curiosity, and a little confusion. She had not straight out denied any of his demands up until that point, preferring to argue her point calmly and rationally. There was not even a smidgen of rational thought in Brynn's mind at that point though, Elhan could see it plainly enough. 

"_Absolutely_ not!" Brynn growled, unconsciously taking a step toward Elhan and putting her hands to her sword belt and her empty scabbards. The rage sang to her now, and she wanted to give in, but she made herself deny the rage. 

"Then he may not go," Elhan said. "He will stay here with my army, imprisoned, until you return."Brynn pressed her lips so tightly together that they turned white. "You are asking something that is unreasonable," she said through gritted teeth. 

Kill him, the rage sang. 

"A geas spell is not unreasonable," Elhan said. "It ensures that the drow will not betray us" 

"Never!" Brynn shouted again. "Never, never, _never,_ will I allow _anyone_ to place _that_ spell on _anyone. Never!_ Yes, it will ensure loyalty, but it is far more evil to gain loyalty through a spell like _that_ than whatever damage Solaufein could cause if he betrayed us!" Her eyes sparkled with an inner fire, and even Elhan recoiled a little at it. 

And the rage sang, kill him! 

"I am sure you have good reason to behave like this, and believe the way you do," Elhan began, not sure of any such things at all. 

"You know _nothing!_" Brynn snapped. "Make your choice, General Elhan: Allow Solaufein to accompany me, free of _that _spell or find someone else to retrieve the Rhynn Lanthorn. If you can accomplish the latter I will be shocked. Whatever Bodhi was like when you knew her before she is far more powerful now. 

Elhan stared at Brynn, his eyes narrowed. "You presume to dictate terms to me?" he demanded coolly. 

"I presume nothing," Brynn replied, just as coolly as he. "I will not allow _that_ spell to be cast on Solaufein, and if I have to die to prevent it so be it. If _you_ have to die to prevent it, so be it." 

"And what of all the elves yet remaining in Sundanessellar under Irenicus' attack?" Elhan asked. "Will you sacrifice their lives to prevent the casting of one spell on a drow?" 

Brynn didn't even hesitate. "Yes," she said. "I have seen the evil of _that_ spell, and it has caused more pain and suffering to me and to those around me than you can ever know." She grimaced, fighting back grief and tears. She continued on, far more quiet than before. "Solaufein does not deserve this sort of distrust, General Elhan, he is a noble man, and his heart is good. I will not allow you to have _that_ spell cast on him." 

For a long time Elhan was silent, then he said, "I do not know what has caused you to feel this strong emotion in you, Brynn Trueblade. You may be right that I can never know the extent of the pain you feel, though I can see you feel it clearly enough. Do you accept responsibility for any of the drow's actions, accept them as if they were your own and likewise accept the consequences?" 

Brynn nodded. "Without question," she said sincerely. 

Elhan sighed. "Then he may leave with you, free from any spells. If, however, your trust in him is proven false, know that the deaths of thousands of elves may well be on your head. Go now, one of my men will equip you with the holy water and wooden stakes you earlier requested." 

Tired of nodding, and trembling a little from her emotional outburst, Brynn merely walked away, and the Blades followed. Elhan waved his hand and one of the guards unbound Solaufein, and the dark elf joined the other Blades as they left. 

The Blades collected holy water, stakes and enough rations to last the trip to Athkatla, and left soon after. A distinct change came over Brynn as they traveled, whatever vigor had returned to her in the earlier battle had vanished utterly almost as soon as they had reached the surface. While fighting the drow she had been her old self again, if only for a few minutes. The new Brynn was back now though, and the brief reappearance of the old Brynn made her friends miss her all the more. 


	18. Allies

*** 

Chapter 18: 

Allies 

*** 

It was full night when the Blades finally arrived in Athkatla. The journey had been a full day and a half, and they had not stopped even for a moment. Brynn was not usually inclined to put her friends on the march for that long, but this time she decided, and they all agreed, that it was a necessary evil. 

Time was short, and after her conversation with Elhan, Brynn's temper was even shorter. An unfortunate pair of guards at the city gates found that out the hard way when he tried to deny Solaufein access to the city. 

"Two in one bloody day!" the guard exclaimed irritably. "Sorry, Lady Trueblade, but your _friend_ can't come in the city." 

The guard's companion muttered under his breath, "Is she _collecting _the damn drow or something? First that damned Priestess and _now_ erp" The second guard's words trailed off as he found himself on the receiving end of one of the coldest, angriest stares Brynn could manage. 

"Shut up," Brynn told him bluntly. 

The guard swallowed hard and firmly clenched his teeth together. 

Brynn turned her attention back to the first guard. "Solaufein will not be staying outside the city, he is one of the Blades of Honor now, and he is under my protection." The first guard looked like he might say something, but Brynn forestalled him by adding, "Be quiet! I'm in no mood to argue the point with you right now, and if you insist on pressing me I'll probably do something _rash_." 

Like his companion, the first guard swallowed hard and worked very hard to breathe very quietly. 

Brynn paid no more attention to him. She growled something under her breath and waved the rest of the Blades forward as she stomped into the city. 

Haer'Dalis paused briefly to bow deeply to both of the guards. "I apologize for Lady Brynn's curtness, gentlemen. Send the bill for clean trousers to the Copper Coronet." He chuckled quietly to himself as he spun around, and ran to catch up with his companions. 

*** 

Bernard ran to meet the Blades as soon as they entered the Copper Coronet. As exhausted and irritable as she was Brynn was alert enough to realize that something was afoot. She schooled her features into something more pleasant than the scowl that seemed to have become customary for her during the past few hellish weeks. 

"I'm so glad to see you again!" Bernard exclaimed, throwing the group a big smile. The smile faltered for a moment when Bernard's eyes fell on Solaufein –which was becoming a pattern since Solaufein had joined the Blades- but it was only a little falter and soon enough the smile was back full force. "Jaheira, how are they treating you?" 

"Fine, thank you," Jaheira replied, stifling a yawn. 

"Good, good!" Bernard continued almost before Jaheira had finished. He seemed to Brynn to be awfully anxious about something. "Lady Trueblade, early today some people stopped by and asked after you. I told them that we weren't expecting you back for sometime, but" 

"But what?" Brynn asked, annoyed that the man couldn't just spit it out. 

"But they insisted that they had been told you would be back today and so they decided to stay and wait for you. Were you expecting anyone?" 

Brynn's hands slipped to the hilts of her katanas. "No, no I wasn't, Bernard. Maybe you'd better tell me where these strangers are so I can go meet them." 

"No need." 

And in an instant Brynn had whirled to her right and drawn both of her blades. Steel clashed against steel and Brynn found herself looking through a web of katanas and scimitars into a pair of violet eyes set in an ebon-hued face. She knew those eyes, and that face, and she knew those scimitars too. But that didn't mean she was going to put her blades away just yet. She_ couldn't_ put her blades away; the four weapons were pressed together so that for one of them to get free both parties had to withdraw. 

"Ah If I had known that you would _react_ like this I would have waited until Bernard introduced us," said Drizzt Do'Urden. 

Brynn narrowed her eyes at the famous dark elf between the mesh created by their four blades. 

"Nice block," she said. "I'd shake hands, but" she shrugged. Drizzt let up with his right blade, freeing Brynn's left, and then Brynn let up on her right blade freeing Drizzt's left. 

"Uh yeah, this is them," Bernard said lamely. "Do you need any?" 

"Everything is fine, Bernard, go do what you have to do," Brynn told the portly bartender as she sheathed her blades. Bernard heaved a sigh of relief and retreated quickly to his bar. He didn't go back to work though, instead he kept an eye on Brynn and Drizzt. 

"So," Brynn said, sitting down at the nearest table and kicking a chair out for Drizzt with one foot, "you were looking for me because someone said I'd be here today? _I_ didn't even know I was going to be here today until I got here." She glanced over the dark elf's shoulders at his four companions, a blonde human that might or might not have been taller than Minsc, a petite human woman, a halfling male scowled at her from behind a bushy red beard. "Tell your dwarven friend to stop fingering his battle axe, it's making me nervous, and I don't like it." 

"Listen, lass, the elf don't tell_ me_ ta do nothing!" the dwarf retorted indignantly. "Why don't ye tell _that_ bunch a' idiots behind ye ta" 

"Bruenor" the halfling began. 

"Shut yer mouth, Rumblebelly," the dwarf growled. After that he muttered a few rude things under his breath about Brynn's parentage –if only the grouchy old dwarf had known the truth! - but was otherwise quiet. 

Brynn raised an eyebrow and returned her attention to Drizzt, who was unsuccessfully trying to hide a smile of amusement at the old dwarf's tirade. "An answer would be nice, but if you really don't have one I've got to get some rest. I've been on the road since yesterday at sunset." 

"No, there is an answer," Drizzt replied. 

The Blades and Drizzt companions settled into chairs, and Drizzt went into a long explanation of how he ended up in the Copper Coronet looking for Brynn. The date of Brynn's arrival at the Copper had been predicted by a mage from the Harpell clan, Harkle by name, who insisted that the Companions of the Hall –as Drizzt and his friends were called- would want to be in Athkatla then for 'something very important that I just can't quite remember,' as Harkle had put it. That had been three weeks ago, and during that time Drizzt and company had traveled down from the north to Athkatla. 

"And so here we are," Drizzt finished with a shrug. "Do you by any chance have an idea of what Harkle's 'something very important' was?" 

Brynn was silent for a while. She did indeed have an idea, a very good one, but she did not want to speak of it in the middle of the Copper's common room. "Come with us up to our headquarters," she said, nodding her head in the direction of the stairs. "We can discuss it up there." 

The Companions of the Hall shifted in their seats and stood up, as did the Blades of Honor, and the two groups made their way up the stairs into the Blades' headquarters. Minsc shut the door behind them all and stood in front of it, guarding it like some sort of monolithic stone statue one that had a small golden hamster on its shoulder. The tall barbarian warrior, Wulfgar, took up a position on the other side of the door. Always the hostess, Nalia gathered up chairs and directed Aerie to get cushions and Anomen to drag the chess table out of the center of the room. When everyone was seated and comfortable again, Brynn began to explain the situation. 

"Tomorrow, as soon as the sun rises, we are attacking a vampire stronghold beneath the graveyard district," she said plainly. Her words elicited a noise of surprise from Cattie-brie, the petite human woman, mutter of dismay from the halfling Regis, and a grunt of respect from Bruenor Battlehammer. Drizzt only blinked briefly, raised one white brow and waited for Brynn to continue. 

"The story is a long, drawn out one," Brynn went on, "but I will sum it up as briefly as I can. Bodhi and a mage named Irenicus" she spat the name out; it left a bad taste in her mouth and made the rage sing with a thousand voices, "have stolen an artifact called the Rhynn Lanthorn from the elves and with it somehow managed to seal the elven army, who were battling a drow army, outside the city of Sundanessellar. Irenicus is in Sundanessellar, no doubt killing and ravaging as is his wont, and Bodhi was entrusted with the Rhynn Lanthorn's safekeeping here her graveyard stronghold." Brynn paused to allow the Companions to soak that up, and then continued. "I have my own battles to fight with both Bodhi and Irenicus, and since I need to get into the elven city as much as General Elhan and his army I agreed to retrieve the Rhynn Lanthorn." 

*** 

While Brynn was talking Solaufein leaned over and whispered to Jaheira, who via a spell was able to converse understandably with the drow, "What did she just say?" 

Jaheira shushed him. 

Solaufein sighed and wished for the umpteenth time that one of the others had been put in charge of communicating with him. 

*** 

"Well," said Wulfgar, speaking up from his post at the door, "I guess that's what Harkle thought was important. 

"How could he forget somethin' like that?" Cattie-brie mused aloud. "Suren he's absent-minded, but this is somethin' else altogether." 

Brynn laughed politely. "Do you want to help?" she asked Drizzt. "An extra arm or five would be useful." She had been keeping an eye on the ranger since she had started her tale, gauging his reaction to her words. Where Drizzt went, she figured, so would go his friends. 

"Helping is more or less what I came here to do," Drizzt replied. "Though I must admit I was not expecting something this" he paused, at a loss for words. "Well, suffice it to say I was not expecting something like this." 

Brynn nodded. Nobody ever did. 

*** 

As soon as the discussion broke up both parties retreated to their rooms to rest up for the battle in the morning. Except for Brynn. She stayed in the main room of the Blades' headquarters, sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor. As well as training her to use the sword, Touga Kurai had taught her some of the basic elements of meditation, something he said was key becoming a better kensai. It was calming, he said, it allowed one to go into battle without being pressed by outside concerns, and was as restful as a full night's sleep often enough. 

Unfortunately proper meditation required the ability to clear the mind. When Brynn closed her eyes, and put all of her thoughts away, the rage sang louder. She could not quiet it, though she tried again and again. The rage still whispered its terrible song in the back of her mind. It wouldn't go away. 

Frustrated, Brynn opened her eyes and slammed her fist into the floor in front of her. One wooden board cracked and split down the middle, bowing inward. From the room below Brynn heard the sound of someone shouting a curse and falling out of bed with a loud THWACK. 

"Sorry," she muttered quietly. She wasn't sorry in the least though. At that moment she could have cared less if someone had gotten a bump on the head. 

Her hand was stinging, so she looked at it carefully and dislodged a couple of nasty splinters, and then got up from the floor and went down to the common room. Closing time had come more than an hour ago, so Bernard wasn't behind the bar. Brynn really didn't care. She went around back of the bar, perused the selection of drinks, grabbed a mug and got herself a little ale. Maybe that would shut up the rage in her head, or at least dull it down so that she could concentrate on her meditation. 

And maybe Minsc would one day decided to turn Boo into a hamster kabob. 

She sat down on one of the stools at the bar and leaned her head into her hand as she sipped at her ale. Yeah, and maybe one day Aerie would get some backbone, and maybe Anomen would give up the Order 'just because.' Maybe Haer'Dalis would settle down with a nice woman and raise a bunch of kids without wishing he was still out and about. Maybe Jaheira would say to hell with the balance and elope with Cernd after converting him to her chaotic vision. Maybe Nalia would turn into an uppity snob and marry that rich what's-his-name. Maybe Mazzy would take over the Shadow Thieves and rule the Amnish underworld with an iron fist. 

Brynn's wild imaginings were interrupted as Drizzt came and sat down one stool down from her at the bar. "As tired as you look might I venture that perhaps you should be getting some rest?" he said in a pleasant voice. 

Brynn wanted to punch him for sounding that pleasant –it wasn't fair that he could be so carefree when she was miserable- but that was just the rage talking again, so instead she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes as she took another sip of her ale. "I suppose you might venture such a thing, since you already did, more or less," she replied. "Shouldn't you take your own advice?" 

Drizzt shrugged. "I was sleeping, but something made one of the boards in my ceiling snap, at it jolted me out of bed literally." 

"That was me," Brynn admitted. "I should let you know that I'm really not sorry, but I'll say that I am. Sorry." 

"I see." 

Brynn shook her head. "No you don't, but that's all right. Go back to bed. Tomorrow will be here soon enough." 

Drizzt nodded. "I will, but first let me ask why you were up breaking boards at this hour?" 

Brynn shrugged and drained the last of her ale out of the mug. As she had suspected, the rage was singing just as clearly as ever. "I didn't mean to," she said. "I was meditating like Master Touga taught me, or trying to at least, and that sort of thing builds up a person's ki. I forgot how strong I am right after I meditate like that. I haven't done it in a while." Try for months. There hadn't been a lot of time, and it hadn't been necessary. She had always been able to clear her mind with ease before. 

Drizzt seemed to have missed the last part of her explanation. He was peering at her curiously, as if there was something he was trying to remember. 

"Have we met before?" he asked. 

"Yes," Brynn said. "This evening. We got our swords stuck together. And allow me to clue you in on something: that line doesn't work so well if you've just met that evening, and have been talking for the past few minutes." 

Drizzt chuckled. "That's not what I meant. I mean have we met before today. Your face is familiar." 

Brynn smiled cheekily. "Well I _am_ famous, you know." 

"I am serious." 

Brynn sighed and looked forlornly into her empty mug for a time before she replied, "Yes, we have met before, and I hope you remember the other people who've saved your life better than you remember me." 

Drizzt cocked his head to one side. "Oh?" 

"Oh come on!" Brynn exclaimed, a little surprised. "You've got to remember at least a little bit. I'll give you some hints. You were down a ways south of Baldur's Gate with a whole pack of gnolls riding up your ass and nowhere to turn for help." 

Drizzt's eyes lit up. "You were one of the gnolls? I must say that you have gotten a lot better looking and a lot more alive since the last time I saw you." 

"I thought you were being serious," Brynn growled. "Of course I wasn't the one of the gnolls!" 

Drizzt smiled. "I remember you now. I knew I knew you when I saw that gigantic man with the purple tattoo, I just couldn't remember where from." 

"Minsc is rather unforgettable," Brynn remarked dryly. 

"Indeed he is," Drizzt agreed. He rested one arm on the bar and shifted in his seat so that he was facing her. "You have made quite a name for yourself since we last met. I was regaled by several people in the tavern before you arrived with tales of the Blades of Honor and their noble leader." 

"Yeah, noble," Brynn muttered to herself. 

"I think that perhaps they were making sure we were not trying to usurp your position here," Drizzt continued. "You have quite the loyal following, Brynn Trueblade." 

"I guess so," Brynn admitted. She had never liked being flattered pointlessly, and she could tell that was what Drizzt was doing. She suddenly had the idea that he hadn't forgotten where they had met before at all. "I'm not a proud woman, Do'Urden, so if you're trying to appeal to my ego you're going to fail miserably. Just say whatever it is you want to say." 

Drizzt smiled again. "Sorry," he said a little sheepishly. "Your demeanor did not seem to invite blunt questions." 

"My demeanor doesn't invite pussy-footing around any more that it does bluntness," Brynn pointed out. "I may well take you to your doom tomorrow, I might as well satisfy your curiosity." 

"What did Irenicus do to you?" 

Brynn sat up straight on her stool as if someone had just punched her in the stomach. She forced a laugh and said, "Where to begin?" 

"At the beginning?" Drizzt ventured. 

"Right, the beginning," Brynn repeated. The rage began to sing louder. "He kidnapped me and my friends, and then killed Jaheira's husband, Khalid, and Minsc's witch, Dynaheir. He raped Imoen, used her like he used his trio of dryad concubines, like a toy, and then managed to get the both of them imprisoned in Spellhold as we were escaping." She paused, looked down at her hands for a moment and blinked away a few tears. The rage sang louder yet. "He planted a man in our group, Yoshimo, and he put a geas on him so that Yoshimo couldn't betray him. And then Yoshimo fell in love with me, and I with him. Then when we went to free Imoen from Spellhold over a month ago, Irenicus called in the power of the geas, and forced Yoshimo to betray us so that Irenicus could capture me alive. 

"Irenicus put me in a vile machine and with magic tore my soul from my body, and then tossed me and my friends into the dungeons of Spellhold to die. But we escaped, and we fought Irenicus until he fled." Brynn bit her lip and continued. "But we were a nuisance, and Irenicus thought we were weak, so he sent assassins to kill us before we could leave Spellhold. He sent Yoshimo to kill us. To kill _me_. But Yoshimo was stronger than that. He wouldn't lift his blade against me, and doomed himself for it. There wasn't any way the geas could be lifted in time to save him so I" 

Drizzt put a hand on her shoulder. "Enough," he said gently. "Enough, Brynn Trueblade. I have my answer." 

Brynn nodded and Drizzt slipped back to his own seat, turning so she could surreptitiously wipe her tears away and regain a little of her dignity. "_That_ is what Irenicus did to me," she said at last. 

Drizzt looked at her carefully, and Brynn had a feeling that he was getting to the point he had wanted to get at from the beginning. "You must hate him," he said. 

_And you don't want to be a part of my vendetta,_ Brynn thought. _Nor do you want to draw your friends into it. A wise choice, Drizzt Do'Urden._ "I do hate him," Brynn said. She didn't dare deny it. That would be as obvious a lie as any ever told. "But I'm not going to him because I hate him. I'm going to get my soul back, and I'm going to rid the world of him so that no one else has to suffer as I have." 

Drizzt nodded. "I understand," he said. 

This time Brynn really thought he did understand. "Get some sleep," she said. "Tomorrow we kill vampires." 


	19. Battle Lines

*** 

Chapter 19: 

Battle Lines 

*** 

The first rays of sunlight found the Blades and the Companions of the Hall as they began to enter the catacombs that housed Bodhi's vile lair. All door save for the one that lead directly into the lair had been collapsed. That bothered Brynn for two reasons. The first was that now it would be far more difficult to get in undetected, nigh on impossible in fact. The second reason was a little more abstract. The men and women who had loved ones interred in the catacombs, or ancestors or what have you, did so because they wanted to in some way preserve the remains of that loved one eternally, even if that only meant a bronze plaque on the stones beneath a cobweb covered skeleton's niche. No doubt in collapsing the passages down to the catacombs themselves, Bodhi and her minions had turned to dust many of those fragile skeletons, destroyed their tombs, and desecrated their eternal sanctuary. 

Then again, the rage had been getting crafty as of late, not just demanding death and vengeance, but trying to find ways of turning Brynn into a mass murderer -the sort that would have made Bhaal proud- without her even knowing it had happened. It had a way of turning the slightest irritation or wrong into a problem of epic proportions that she _had_ to right. Her own mind was turning against her. Irenicus hadn't just taken her soul with his machine, he had left her vulnerable to her own darker side, and that made Brynn feel very afraid. 

Crouching down like a cat at Brynn's side, Imoen examined the floor and the stone walls of the hall that lead out of the antechamber of the catacombs. "All clear so far," she said. She twitched, as if jolted by a static charge. "I can feel her," she murmured after a moment. 

A sickening smell, that of dead flesh kept preserved, though not as perfectly as it had been when alive, wafted down the hall. A cloud of bluish-white mist followed, and a pair of black bats with glowing red eyes. The mist and bats shifted and morphed into the forms of four vampires. Their red eyes sent a chill down Brynn's back, and she reached for her katanas and drew them. She pushed Imoen back, putting her out of danger of the vampire's terrible attacks for the moment, and shifted into a defensive stance. 

"We have been waiting for you," one of the vampires, a female, hissed. In life she might well have been a beautiful woman, like so many of the other victims Bodhi had made vampires, but now she was twisted. Whatever beauty this creature had had was utterly gone. 

"No, really?" Brynn snapped back sarcastically. "I was wonder what the welcoming committee was for. "Go back to your tombs, you stinking corpses, unless you want to be just plain dead instead of _un_dead." 

The female spokes-vampire smiled, showing her gleaming white fangs. "I think not," she said. 

All four together the vampires attack Brynn, but Brynn dropped flat on her stomach on the ground, and from behind her a volley of arrows struck the four vampires. One was hit in the forehead, another in the shoulder, a third in the stomach, and the fourth was struck a fatal blow through the heart. Flames sprang up on the clothing of the vampires, and their screams of rage and pain for a moment made the song of the rage in Brynn's head shut up. 

The rage was pleased. 

Brynn was disgusted. 

Frantically the vampires tried to swat out the flames that had begun to burn away their undead flesh. The fire itself could not kill them, but the burns would never heal completely, and the creature would always be horribly disfigured. The fourth vampire, the one struck through the heart, lay still on the stone floor of the hall, the fire ravaging it's body. Soon, there would be nothing left but ashes and it would be dead for good. 

The second wave of the attack consisted of Brynn, Minsc, Drizzt and Bruenor. Anomen and Jaheira stayed a little behind them in order to provide healing spells in case one of the vampires managed to hit one of the four. 

Slipping in and out of her chosen opponent's range, Brynn deflected the supernaturally powerful slamming punches aimed at her with ease, though she had trouble finding time to get in an attack of her own. Each opportunity that presented itself came right after the vampire had attacked and Brynn had blocked, and the power of the Vampire's fists was such that it made Brynn's arms go numb for a moment and threw her off balance. This, she decided as her left wrist began to ache, was one of those times when she needed both hands on one katana. Quickly she sheathed her left-hand blade, and brought her right blade up to block another attack. As the force of the blow drove her backward, Brynn gripped the hilt of the katana with her left hand, shifting her grip so that the sword slid forward, the razor sharp edge slicing through the steel-like skin on the vampire's fore arm and then plunging directly through the vampire's chest until the tip came out the other side. She shifted her grip slightly and changed the direction of her pressure on the blade, now pushing downward instead of thrusting forward, and the sharp edge of the katana sheared through the undead flesh all the way from the vampire's right breast to it's left hip. 

No longer in control of its lower half, its spine having been sliced in two, the vampire fell to the floor. Quick as lightening Brynn reached for one of the wooden stakes strapped across her chest bandoleer-like, and drove the stake through the vampire's heart. In an instant the vampire's flopping and struggling ceased and Brynn took the time to cut off its head and throw that and the rest of the body into the flames that raged around and through the corpses of the other fallen vampires. 

As Brynn flicked the blackened blood and fluids off of her katana she was attacked from behind. A shout of warning alerted her a moment too late. She felt her left shoulder snap under the vampire's blow, and then a feeling so cold that it burned. For a moment her vision swam, and she nearly stumbled as she turned around to face her attacker. The vampire came at her again, but Brynn brought her katana up and deflected it just enough so that the attack missed. Her left arm hanging useless at her side, Brynn fought off the vampire, but she couldn't get enough strength through the pain in her shoulder and the feeling of weakness that had suddenly overcome her to launch an assault of her own. 

But that's what her friends were there for. Brynn heard the twang of a bow and the vampire seemed to _leap_ forward. The creature hit her square on with such force that it knocked her to the ground, and a jolt of fiery pain lanced through her whole left side. The vampire hissed, showing its terrible fangs, and smiled a terrible smile. It leaned forward and tried to bite at Brynn's unprotected neck, but Brynn slammed the hilt of her katana into its temple and kicked it off of her. Dropping the katana, she went for another wooden stake and drove it home. A moment later the vampire joined its fellows in the pile of burning bodies, and not long after that the fourth vampire fell to Drizzt. 

"Yer hoggin' all the blasted fun!" Bruenor growled, hefting his battle-axe and scowling. 

Brynn looked at him a little foggily. Her shoulder hurt like hell and she was having trouble feeling the fingers on her left hand. She had probably pinched a nerve or something when her shoulder had been broken. "You can have th' next ones," she slurred, leaning her right hand against the stone wall and trying to shake the feeling of weakness. 

"My lady, you need healing," Anomen said, approaching her with an outstretched hand. 

Brynn gave him the same foggy look she had given Bruenor. "Guess I do," she admitted. "Damn shoulder hurts." 

Anomen placed his hands gently on Brynn's shoulder, eliciting a small grunt of pain from her despite his caution, and began to chant a spell of healing. The pain subsided as soon as the spell had been cast and the feeling in Brynn's fingers returned as well. She rotated her shoulder around to test it out. Sometimes pain still remained after healing, because even if the spell healed the major damage it didn't always get out all the kinks. She drew her left hand katana and went through a quick series of practice cuts, making sure she had her full range of motion and all of her strength. 

"Good," Brynn said. "Let's go..." 

"Wait a moment, my lady," Anomen insisted. "That vampire did more than simply injure you, it drained you of energy. Such a thing may well have weakened you a considerable bit." 

Oh, well that explained why she felt so weak. Brynn shrugged and let Anomen cast a second spell, and soon after she felt a tingle of energy course through her as the feeling of weakness disappeared. 

"_Now,_" Brynn said, "let's go." 

With Imoen, Nalia and the halfling, Regis, checking the hall for any possible surprises that Bodhi might have left, the Blades and the Companions continued on. 

The hall opened into a large rectangular room with large heavily decorated carpet in the center of it. A staircase leading down into the lowest level of the catacombs and another hallway began on the opposite side of the room and a third hall lead off just to the left of the one the party had just come through. The huge ornate main door opened out from the right wall. Aside from the lamps that lit the room with a soft, eerie light there was nothing else in the room. 

Brynn gripped the hilts of her katanas tighter anyway; vampires could appear from nowhere, as her previous experience indicated. Behind her, Brynn heard the distinctive sound of Jaheira's footsteps as the druid moved up to stand at her side. 

"I was thinking," Jaheira said in a quiet voice, "that we might split up here." 

Brynn looked at the other half-elf out of the corner of her eyes for a moment before returning to her careful watch of the room. "Hmm?" she inquired. 

"The lower chambers are not large enough to bring in a force of ten, let alone fifteen. Sixteen if you count Do'Urden's panther friend. There will not be enough room to fight." 

"What do you suggest then?" Brynn asked, briefly flicking her eyes in Jaheira's direction again. 

"You, Minsc, Imoen, Anomen, Haer'Dalis, Do'Urden, the dwarf and myself will continue onto the lower chambers and fight Bodhi, the rest will clean out the rest of the upper levels and destroy the vampire's blood pools with the holy water given to us by General Elhan. They can also take the time to stake any of the vampires that might have retreated to their coffins after we have defeated them down below." 

Brynn thought about that. Jaheira's plan had it so that the mix of fighters and spell casters on each level was relatively even, with the weaker members of the group up above where, theoretically, they would be safer while the stronger people were below dealing with Bodhi. It was that 'theoretically' that bothered Brynn. The last thing she wanted to do was leave any of her friends vulnerable, and likewise she figured that the same thing would concern Drizzt. "Minsc should stay with the group on the upper floors, he won't like being separated from Aerie when there's fighting going on. Mazzy can come down with us. Is Nalia still translating for Solaufein?" 

"She is," Jaheira replied. 

Brynn nodded. She frowned, catching sight of a flicker of movement from across the room. "Fine then, we split... but first, we kill some vampires." 

From the opposite hall and the stairway vampires came pouring into the room. Eight in all, they charged eagerly across the lavish, blood-red carpet and attack the invaders. 

Brynn slipped easily back into the tempo of the fight, warding off the blows of the three vampires that encircled her. Parry right, parry right, parry back, parry left, counter high right, high strike left, parry right. She fell into the rhythm at let the rage bubble to the surface and put more power behind her blocks so that she could withstand the arm-numbingly strong attacks of the vampires. She spun around to the left and sliced off an incoming arm, then spun back around to the right just in time to catch another blow that had been aimed for the crown of her skull with an over head block. In the meantime her free blade swept out and cut the belly of the attacking vampire open. In the one moment that she was left vulnerable by her move, the third vampire came at her, but it stopped suddenly, the glint of metal showing through it's chest. The metal vanished and the vampire turned around awkwardly to face its new attacker, only to have its knees cut out from under it as Bruenor Battlehammer went to finish off his kill. A third blow from the dwarf's battle-axe beheaded the vampire, and the archers, Nalia and Cattie-brie, were quick to set the vampire aflame as soon as Bruenor and driven a stake through the creature's heart. 

"Take _that_, ye stinkin' corpse," the dwarf spat. Then he turned without another word and stomped off to find another victim. 

Brynn, having had the odds made better by a considerable bit by Bruenor's efforts, quickly decapitated and staked her two opponents, signaled to the archers for a volley of fire arrows on the downed vampires, and looked for more things to kill. Really, there wasn't much left. Haer'Dalis was toying with a newly made vampire, jumping in and out if its reach as he taunted it and cut it up. Brynn shook her head and wished that the tiefling would just finish the damn thing and get it over with. Minsc and Aerie and between them hacked and _magic missiled _another vampire to death, finishing the thing off with a quick _flame arrow_ spell after staking it. Drizzt had made short work of his first foe, and was currently finishing a second, and the eighth and final vampire was lying in three pieces on the carpet, staked and burning like a macabre torch thanks to the joint efforts of Mazzy, Jaheira and Nalia. 

When the last vampire was down Brynn signaled for the group to gather together briefly. "We're going to split up," she told them. "There just isn't enough room down below for all of us. "Minsc, Aerie, Nalia, Solaufein, you're all going to stay up here and clean up the blood pools with holy water. Cattie-brie, Wulfgar and Regis will stay with you, that is if they agree." She sent a questioning look to the three in question and they all agreed. "The rest of us will be going below to get Bodhi and whatever unpleasant surprises she's left for us down there. That okay with everyone?" 

Nods of agreement went all around the group. 

"Great," Brynn said. "See you outside. Good hunting." 

To Be Continued 

*** 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

Well, I'm back from Florida now, and also back on my own computer. Thank God for small miracles. I've gone back and fixed some of the numerous errors in chapters 17 and 18 that were due in part to the fact that I was using my grandparents computer and also the fact that I was typing at night when I was tired. Hopefully things will be better now. Not much else to say on the matter, except that the next chapter should be out quicker than this one, it took me a while to get going again because of spring cleaning at my house and a school performance that I had to be in over the weekend. 

Thanks much, 

Blue 


	20. Victory

*** 

Chapter 20: 

Victory 

*** 

Down into the depths of the catacombs the eight adventurers descended. The stones reeked of lichen and mold, death and decay, and the air was thick and moist. Torches along the walls provided weak illumination for those not gifted with sight in the infrared spectrum, but all that light served to do was cast ominous shadows along the corridor. Only Haer'Dalis seemed to be unfazed by the grim setting. 

"Beneath the earth our faits await us," he said in an almost eager voice, "and just think! We shan't need go far to lie in our graves!" 

Drizzt regarded the bard with a curious glance. "You are one of the most morbid people I've ever met," he said. 

"I like to think of myself as realistic," Haer'Dalis replied, smiling crookedly. "Excitement, chaos and the occasional fair maiden make my world go 'round, and I have to say that I am quite happy." 

"Well, excitement and chaos are certainly not in short supply in the life of an adventurer," Drizzt commented. 

"Particularly not when traveling with yon raven," Haer'Dalis agreed. "The very threads of fate reweave themselves when she passes, the pattern of life and death itself changes." 

Brynn frowned. "Cut the flattery, Haer'Dalis," she said. "I'm as subject to fate as the next mortal." She put a little edge into her voice and gave Haer'Dalis a quick look of warning. The last thing she wanted was for her new allies to ditch her after finding out exactly _why_ she was such a remarkable person. Not that she really thought they would, but the fact was that they would look at her differently. That was hard, being looked at like some sort of creature in a zoo, or a circus freak. 

"As you wish, my raven," Haer'Dalis replied evenly, he winked at her, but Brynn wasn't quite sure if that meant that he understood what she meant or if he was just being his usual flirtatious self. 

"This looks like it," Imoen said, stopping as they approached a heavy wooden door. "I can feel her just beyond this door." 

The stink of decay was heavier here than elsewhere, and it made Brynn feel like she was going to gag. She nudged Imoen out of the way and tried the door; it was unlocked. "All right," she said in a whisper to the others, "on three. One... two... _three!_" She turned the handle and threw the door wide open, and lead the charge into the room. 

*** 

"Vampires, hmm?" Solaufein asked Nalia. "They drink blood?" 

Nalia looked at the drow with a little surprise. "Don't you _have_ vampires in the underdark? You had liches." 

Solaufein shook his head. "Not that I knew of," he replied. "They drink blood?" 

Nalia nodded. "Suck it right out of your neck." She made a slurping noise to demonstrate the concept. 

Beside Nalia, Aerie made a face and gave the human woman a curious look. "_What_ are you talking about?" 

"Vampires," Nalia explained. "He wanted to know if they really drank blood." 

"Well of course they do," Aerie said. "Tell him that I say of course they do, please Nalia." 

Nalia turned to Solaufein. "Aerie wanted me to tell you that she said that of course vampires..." she trailed off because just up ahead the hallway opened into a small rectangular room, and in it were four vampires. They seemed to be listening to the conversation, though Nalia couldn't figure out how exactly they could understand what she was saying Solaufein and what he was saying back to her. They also seemed _amused_. 

Minsc, of course, at the first sight of the vampires charged in like the mad man he was, followed quickly by Solaufein, who usually showed more sense than to dive into the mess right after the mad ranger, and then that huge barbarian fellow Wulfgar. Nalia stuck to the back, drew her bow, took aim at a vampire as soon as she had a clear shot, and fired. Next to her, the human woman, Cattie-brie fired _her_ bow, sending forth a blast of light and an arrow that exploded on impact with the vampire target. The shot took the vampire's head clean off, and the little halfling Regis was quick to stake it and set it on fire. Where had he come from anyway? Nalia hadn't even seen him sneak up into the melee. Meanwhile Aerie hemmed and hawed, shifting from foot to foot as she tried to figure out just what to do. Aerie was like that, very indecisive and wishy-washy, Nalia thought. She was a sweet girl, but she needed a little backbone. Finally the young elf began to chant a spell of protection, and a magic veil settled over Minsc's huge shoulders. 

Nalia sighed resignedly. Aerie wasn't fond of going on the attack, she preferred to cast defensive magics, but this was really one of those times when a good _flame strike_ could really speed up the process. Drawing back her bow string again, Nalia aimed at another Vampire, but when she loosed the arrow it snapped in two and clatter uselessly to the floor in front of her. Muttering a few curses that she was sure her aunt would not have approved of, Nalia pulled another arrow from her quiver and fire again. Her luck seemed to be on a down turn, because this time she missed her target. Annoyed, she leaned the bow against the wall, still strung so it could be picked up again at a moment's notice, waved her hands in front of her in the set patter of gestures, muttered a few arcane phrases, and fired off a spell. Magical energy surged forth from her fingertips, making her whole body tingle as she channeled the power, and cloaked the three remaining vampires in bindings of magic. They stood motionless, just as they had been the moment the spell had hit them, one with its hand a hairsbreadth from hitting Solaufein in the chest. 

"Excellent timing," Solaufein said, taking a moment to catch his breath. 

"Stake them while you can," Nalia told him. "The spell won't hold them forever." She drew one of her own stakes and jabbed it into the heart of the nearest vampire, then turned to pick up her bow while the others took finished the vampires off once and for all. 

*** 

The floor of Bodhi's lair was slick with the black blood of vampires and the stained with the red blood of the living. Two of Bodhi's guards lay decapitated and burning across the stone slabs, but four others yet stood, and Bodhi herself as well. The five of them seemed little the worse for wear, save for one of the guard vampires who looked as if it was about to drop and join its cohorts. The eight attackers led by Brynn, however, were showing the strain of the battle far more. It made sense enough, Brynn and the others couldn't regenerate! 

Limping a little from a twisted ankle, Brynn slid under Bodhi's grasping arms and opened a gash in her side. Moments later a stunning blow caught her on the back of the head and slammed her into the stone floor, smearing her face in the blood. Then she felt Bodhi leap on her back, pressing her down harder against the floor so that she couldn't move. 

"What? No brave words now?" Bodhi cackled. She pressed Brynn's head down and rubbed it back and forth across the stone. Brynn felt the cartilage of her nose snap and warm blood flowed down her face. She tried to fight against Bodhi's grip, but the vampire's strength was terrible and Brynn was not certain she could overcome it on her own. 

Unless she became the Slayer again, and she had sworn that she would not. 

_Kill her!_ the rage screamed in her mind. _Tear her apart with your own two hands!_

__"_No!_" Brynn screamed back. She twisted and struggle, managing to free one of her arms and lever herself and Bodhi both up off the ground a little way. "_No!_" She got her other arm freeand grabbed Bodhi by the scruff of her neck and jerked her to the ground. Bodhi's nails dug long furrows in Brynn's back, but Brynn did not notice. 

"I will not become that monster again!" she shouted. "I will not!" She picked her katanas up from the ground where they had fallen and strode toward Bodhi with grim determination. 

"You won't?" Bodhi asked with a great deal of confidence. "It's the only way you'll win." 

Brynn kept coming at her. "No," she snarled. "I don't need that power to destroy a pest like you!" 

All she need was for the other group to purify the pools of blood up on the upper levels -the ones in the lair had already been cleansed by a judicious application of holy water by Mazzy- and then Bodhi would fall, and the Rhynn Lanthorn would be Brynn's. 

"We'll see," was all Bodhi said. 

And the two combatants came together again in a flurry of steel and claws. 

*** 

The room was circular, and sloped inward at a relatively steep angle toward a stone well full of blood. The angled floor was covered with iron spikes as long as a man's hand. One wrong step and other spikes would shoot up from the metal floor and impale the careless of foot. The floor was stained with blood, as were the walls, testimony to the use of the room. It was here that the vampires drained the blood from some of their victims and siphoned it off to the pools in other rooms of the vampires' nest. It was here that many a man and many a woman had died, hurting and pleading for their lives. 

As sensitive as she was, Aerie could almost hear the screams of all those poor people, could almost see their tortured faces. She wanted to turn and run, she wanted to close her eyes and deny that beings could inflict such terrible things on others, but she could not. She had a job to do. 

Some called Aerie a coward, many did in fact, and to some extent they were right, but she wasn't so much a coward as a nice person. She hated suffering, hated death and violence, but she saw the necessity of it. At times like these, when she stood beside her friends at the beginning of a new fight, Aerie's blood ran cold. She would fight the vampires because they were evil, and therefore had to be destroyed, but she would never have fond memories of these days like Minsc would. 

The petite elf looked up at her tall human protector. "Come on, Minsc," she said softly. "This is the last one." 

"I wonder hoe they're managing down below," Nalia mused out loud. 

Beside her, Solaufein said something in a sharp tone. 

"Look out!" the little halfling Regis shouted. 

A cloud of smoke on the other side of the room, just at the far edge of the pool of blood, coalesced into the form of one of Bodhi's lieutenants. From the shadows a half dozen misty monsters appeared and started floating across the room toward the seven intruders. 

"Come!" cried the vampire. "Come so that I can _feed_!" 

Aerie shrieked, "Get back!" and began to weave her hands into a familiar patter, calling on her magic and the element of fire. A globe of fire erupted from her hands and streak forward, past Minsc as he dodge out of the way, and into the center of the room. The vampire dodged as well, but not far enough. The _fireball_ exploded just above the pool of blood and a wave of flame swept out to encompass the room. Four of the mists screech and dissipated, but the other two suffered only minimal damage, and the vampiric lieutenant was scorched all along one side of his body. 

The vampire snarled in rage and bounded across the room toward where Aerie stood seemingly helpless. Aerie's eyes widened in terror, and she stood frozen in place as the creature came closer and closer. Then her vision was filled with the back of Minsc's red dragon scale armor and the might ranger shouted, "Evil, meet my boots!" as he blocked the vampire's slashing claws and kicked it firmly in the stomach. 

The vampire stumbled backward, and Minsc shouted again, "Turn about so that I may properly plant my soles in your backside!" He started to charge forward by Aerie called out to him. 

"The spikes Minsc!" 

Minsc stopped short of stepping into the room and took another swing at the vampire, but he missed because he was not close enough. 

"Choke up you dolt, your grip is all wrong!" Lilarcor chided him irritably. "We woulda had him if you'd've been faster!" 

"Duck!" Cattie-brie said. Aerie ducked, as did Minsc, and heard the twang of a bowstring. A fraction of a second later and arrow shot forth with a blinding light, and a instant later a war hammer whooshed over head as well. Both struck the vampire, the arrow in its arm, and the war hammer in the knee. 

The vampire stumbled and fell... directly onto one of the spike traps, and was impaled. It wriggled disgustingly for a moment before Nalia, watching her step carefully, darted forward into the room and cut of the thing's head and staked it. 

Another arrow from Cattie-brie struck one of the misty creatures as it came forward to attack Nalia, blowing it apart, and dodging around the spikes Solaufein moved into the room and cut the other remaining mist to pieces. As soon as Nalia moved away from the vampire Aerie began casting another spell, _Agannazar's scorcher_, setting the vampire on fire so that it would burn away to ashes. 

It was all over then, Aerie though with relief. All they had to do was... 

Behind her the Regis shouted, "They're coming down the hall!" 

Nalia and Solaufein crossed back out of the room as quickly as they could, and Aerie, Minsc, Wulfgar and Cattie-brie turned to see what had caught Regis' attention. Down the stone corridor came at least two dozen vampires. They could not retreat, the spike room was too dangerous to wage a fight of this size in, and they could not break through the vampire's ranks. Things looked pretty bad. 

Aerie looked up at Minsc again. She took comfort in the look of determination on Minsc's face, and steeled herself for more fighting. "Let's get them!" she shouted as loudly as she could. Her heart soared as the other six people with her echoed her sentiment, and they moved to turn the tables on the ambushing vampires. 

*** 

Anomen swung his mace and connected the metal head with the skull of his vampire opponent. Much to his dismay the vampire merely shrugged the blow off as it had all of the rest and kept coming, its deformed face shifting and healing as he watched. With an angry roar Anomen swung again, and connected again, this time with the thing's shoulder. He heard the wet sound of dead bones snapping and the vampire stumbled a little before continuing it's onslaught. Slowly but surely Anomen was wining, though he wasn't sure if he could keep up what he was doing. Already his body felt like lead, and his armor seemed to weigh a ton. His arms ached from holding up his shield to block the vampire's blows and from attacking with his mace. 

He heard Jaheira shout in pain, struck by the sword of one of the spectral warriors that Bodhi had summoned up from one of the other rooms in her lair, but he could not worry about the druid right then, he had to deal with his own foe. He bashed at the vampire again, this time unbalancing it a good deal, and slipped his mace back into the loop at his belt as he went for one of the wooden stakes in the cloth pouch at his side. He gripped the stake firmly in his hand and charge the vampire, slamming it up against one of the walls with his shield and driving the stake into its heart. The vampire struggled for a second, then was still, and as soon as Anomen moved away from it Haer'Dalis closed in, beheaded it, and set it on fire. They worked in teams like that. Bruenor and the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden, Mazzy and Jaheira, and Anomen and Haer'Dalis. Ideally Imoen and Brynn would have been working together, but Imoen had her hands full with one of the spectral warriors and Brynn was struggling to keep Bodhi at bay. 

Before Anomen could look for another vampire to fight one found him. This one was a female, once a comely young woman, but now her skin was pale with death and her hair hung limply at her shoulders. Anomen didn't like attacking women, but this was no woman anymore, it was a _thing_, a creature, and so he had no compunctions about smashing its skull in. He smashed his mace into her lovely, delicately feature face and without mercy drove a stake into her heart. 

"May the Gods grant your soul peace in death, you did not as for this," he said solemnly before striding over to help Imoen out. Behind him a flash of light signaled that Haer'Dalis had set the vampire aflame. 

*** 

"Tell me again, why'd ye let us get inta this?" Bruenor demanded of Drizzt as they finished off the last of Bodhi's vampire minions. 

"Because it sounded important," the dark elf replied easily. "Besides, you know you are having fun." 

Bruenor growled under his breath, but didn't contradict his longtime friend. Nor did he agree. Tell an elf he's right and he'd lord it over an honest dwarf forever! 

*** 

Claws raked over Minsc's chest and claws raked over his back. Aerie screamed, but despite his efforts, Minsc could not reach her. Two dozen vampires had turned into three dozen in a matter of moments, and the seven warriors on the upper level of the catacombs were surrounded. 

Minsc roared, feeling anger overwhelm him. His witch would not be killed again while he stood watching helplessly. He swung Lilarcor down hard on the head of the nearest vampire, splitting its skull in two, but where that one vampire fell two more moved into take its place, and claws raked over Minsc's chest again and again, and Lilarcor slipped from his fingers with a shout of irritation a clatter as the sword struck the stone floor. And Aerie screamed again. 

Claws and teeth descended down on Minsc, and he struggled though he was beginning to think all the struggles in the world could not save him. For the first time in a very long time, perhaps ever, Minsc began to feel afraid. Who would take care of Boo if he died? 

Suddenly the vampires stopped reaching for him, instead they twitched and jerked around. Finally they stood up straight as soldiers and moved to flank the hallway. Four continued to battle with Wulfgar and Nalia, but the rest of the vampires fell on those four and tore them apart and a spear of flame came down and set the destroyed vampires on fire. 

Minsc, not pausing to wonder what had caused this miracle, hurried over to Aerie, picking up Lilarcor on the way, and helped her up off of the ground. All around the others helped their friends up too. And then down the corridor came a cloaked figure. 

A few strand of white hair escaped from the hood and Nalia shouted out, "Viconia!" 

The dark elf cleric pushed her hood back just a little bit. "What do you want, human?" 

"You came to help us?" Aerie squeaked. 

"No," Viconia replied coolly. "I came to get rid of the vampires. They have been causing me trouble. Do not overestimate your worth, girl." 

Minsc was too happy right then to get angry at Viconia for talking badly to his witch. "Oh joyous day!" he shouted. "Minsc and Boo will continue to kick the butt of vampires and other evil things for years to come!" 

"Shut up you crazy barbarian!" Viconia snapped. 

Near Nalia, Solaufein said something Minsc could not understand. 

Viconia replied, also unintelligibly. By the tone of her voice she wasn't very kind. The two drow continued their conversation for some time, neither of them looking very happy, and at last Viconia said in common, "Well, what are you fools waiting for? Kill the vampires!" then she lapsed back into the language of the drow. 

*** 

Though no one else could understand what Viconia was saying, Solaufein could, and it made his ears threaten to turn red. 

"What a foul mouth," he murmured to himself. 

"Hmm?" Nalia inquired. She could understand him only through the spell, not anyone else speaking in his language. "What's she saying." 

"Nothing worth repeating," Solaufein assured her. 

"Oh," Nalia said. 

Then they quickly got to work, finished off the vampires, and dumped the elven holy water into the pool of blood in the center of the circular room. 

*** 

Bodhi let out a scream and Brynn drew back suddenly, surprised by the horrible sound. 

"No! Not like _this_!" Bodhi shouted. 

And then Brynn knew that her friends upstairs had finished their task and Bodhi could no longer draw power from the pool of blood. "Too bad so sad," she growled. 

Bodhi backed away, and Brynn limped toward her, feeling the blood streaming down her back and her muscles aching with every step. "No!" Bodhi shouted again. She turned to flee to her coffin, as if that could save her, and Brynn brought up her right hand katana. 

"Yes!" Brynn shouted. "Just like this!" and with one clean cut she sliced Bodhi's head from her shoulders. She kicked the head as it rolled toward her, drew a stake from her pouch and crouched down to drive it through Bodhi's heart. Brynn heard Imoen's voice, weak from the battle, as she recited the incantation to a spell, and moments later an arrow of flame shot into Bodhi's body, reducing her to ash in minutes. 

Something_ lifted_ from the ashes and swirled around, sparkling but not quite visible, then it shot toward Imoen, and the young woman stiffened suddenly, then went limp, her whole body shaking. 

"Are you all right?" Brynn asked, getting to her feet and going over to her little sister. 

"I... I'm fine," Imoen murmured. "Oh Brynn, I'm wonderful. I have my soul back! I have it back again!" She wrapped her arms around Brynn and pressed her head against Brynn's shoulder. 

Brynn winced as Imoen touched the deep gashes in her back, but ignored the pain for the moment and let Imoen hug her. They were victorious, but for some reason Brynn felt cheated. 

No, not for _some_ reason. 

It was because Imoen had her soul back, but Irenicus still had Brynn's. It was because Brynn could still here the rage singing in her head. It was because instead of feeling only happy for her best friend and sister Brynn also heard the rage calling to her, whispering thoughts of jealousy to her. 

"That's great," Brynn said a little numbly. "That's great. I'm really... happy for you." 

To be Continued 

*** 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

A/N 

Twenty freaking chapters and nearly 70,000 words! That's a whole lot now that I have time to sit and think about it. Another thing that gets on my 'a lot' list is the number of hits this story has gotten since I posted it, 1208 on the first chapter alone, and fifty two reviews. Holy cow! I'm flabbergasted that you guys like this so much. It isn't long now to the end of my tale, though I do intend, as I've mentioned before to keep it up with a sequel etc. Thanks a lot to all of you reviewers out there for all the support thus far, I really appreciate it. 

Blue 


	21. Sundanessellar

*** 

Chapter 20: 

Sundanessellar 

*** 

The Blades bade good-bye to Drizzt Do'Urden and his friends before they left to rendezvous with the elven general Elhan, and at the same time they also bade good-bye to Solaufein, who accepted an offer made by Drizzt to assist him in finding allies on the surface. Brynn, though she would miss Solaufein, figured it was better this way. He would not have been welcome in the elven city, and even if he had saved all the elves there single-handedly they would never have given him credit for it. Brynn also had no desire to involve Solaufein in her own battle against Irenicus. The others had a reason to go with her, they too had been imprisoned and had suffered at Irenicus' hands, but Solaufein had no reason to join them in their fight against the evil mage. 

After leaving Athkatla the Blades headed straight for the elven encampment, moving as quickly as they could. There was no time to waste with rest, no time to spare at all, and despite the healing they had all received from Jaheira, Anomen, Aerie and to a lesser extent Minsc, they were all sore and tired. It would have been nice if they could have afforded horses to ride. Not only would it have sped the journey along, but it would have given them a chance to rest their weary legs. However, the Blades' coffers were damn near empty, and Brynn wasn't in the mood to haggle with an Amnish merchant, so they walked back to camp, never stopping once. Aerie, who was exhausted not only from the battle, but from having to cast all the spells that she had, ended up nearly passing out seven hours out of Athkatla, and Minsc carried her the rest of the way. 

The mood of the group was somber, despite the return of Imoen's soul. Even Haer'Dalis, who was often fond of singing or whistling as they traveled, was silent. Jaheira spoke in quiet tones with Imoen near the back of the group, and Nalia and Anomen walked arm in arm, each leaning on the other a little as they went. Minsc stayed a few steps ahead of Brynn, picking out the best path for them. He wasn't the brightest man the world had ever seen, but he was a ranger, and he knew well enough what he was doing. Mazzy walked just to Brynn's right, glancing up occasionally at the taller woman and trying to gauge her mood, though after the first few times it was pointless. Brynn was quiet, more quiet than she had been in a long time, and her thoughts were grim if the look on her face was evidence. 

At long last the reached the camp of the elven army, and a quartet of elven soldiers escorted them to Elhan. 

"So, you have returned. I take it then that you were successful?" Elhan asked Brynn in the elven tongue. 

Brynn took her pack off, grateful to have the weight off of her tired shoulders, and produced a carefully wrapped bundle. "We were successful," she replied, also in eleven. 

"I noticed that your drow _friend_ is not with you," Elhan remarked. 

"He helped us acquire the Rhynn Lanthorn, but he had his own quest to follow," Brynn told the general, too tired to be angry with him for the implying that Solaufein had betrayed them. "He fought as bravely as any of us, and as loyally." 

"I see," said Elhan. He did not seem at all willing to admit that he had even _maybe_ been wrong about Solaufein. "We leave for Sundanessellar immediately." In a gentler voice than Brynn had heard from him ever before he added, "We are taking several carts full of supplies, but I believe there is room enough for you and your companions to rest while we travel." 

"Thank you," Brynn told him. "I really appreciate that." 

The other Blades were equally as thankful, and those that could speak elven immediately told the general that, the others thanked him in common as soon as Brynn had explain Elhan's offer to them. The nine of them tucked their bedrolls in between and on top the boxes and barrels of supplies in the wagons, and despite the fact that it was an amazingly uncomfortable place to lie down they were all asleep as soon as they put their heads down. 

*** 

Sundanessellar was only three hours away, but that was enough time for the Blades to be rested and refreshed enough to be at least nominally functional. One of the elven clerics was kind enough to give them nine vials of a potion that would refresh them fully for the upcoming battle, and the Blades thanked him profusely for that. The forest quickly grew so thick that the carts could not make it all the way through, and the supplies were unloaded and the elven soldiers carried them. The Blades, in payment for having been given the time to rest and the potions, also carried some of the supplies, throwing extra packs over their shoulders. Thankfully none of the supplies were to heavy, nor too large. From the point where they left the carts it was about a half hour walk up to the gate of Sundanessellar, or at least to where the elves indicated that the gate _ought_ to be. At that point Elhan produce the Rhynn Lanthorn, and a doorway appeared on the previously unmarred trunk of a giant tree. The Blades followed the elves into the tree and up a long staircase that was carved into the trunk until at last they came out at the base of a huge branch and looked upon the elven city. 

Brynn couldn't help comparing it to Ust Natha, though she knew that she could never tell such a thing to the elves if she wanted to live. Just like in Ust Natha large circular platforms, connected by slender bridges and supported by the branches of the ancient trees of the elven forest, formed the base for the cities buildings. Many of the buildings were built directly into the trees that abutted them, but others were freestanding, and all were works of art. 

The sight was one of the most beautiful Brynn had ever seen, but it was marred by the twisting columns of smoke that wove their way lazily up into the air, and by the bodies of unfortunate elves that had been caught in the first wave of Irenicus' invasion days ago and left to rot in the streets and on the platforms. More than one of the elven soldiers that had just arrived had tears in his or her eyes, not just because of the ruin that their beloved city was in, but at the discovery of a loved one lying dead just as they had fallen. One woman, shaking and wailing in a way that was at the same time terrible and profoundly beautiful as she clutched at the little doll that had been dropped as her child had tried to flee. A second soldier crouch near her, a hand on the woman's shoulder in an effort to console her. 

Brynn looked away, unable to watch the scene anymore. The little part of her soul that was still hers was crying with the elven warrior, but the rage used the grief she saw and sang to her of exacting a terrible vengeance. She found it oddly easy to deny the call of her rage; its song was oddly muted here in Sundanessellar, something she attributed to the closeness of her soul. She knew now what Imoen had meant when she said she could _feel_ that Bodhi was close by when they had been back in Athkatla. She could sense Irenicus' presence, she could sense the presence of her soul, and it beckoned her, begged her, called her to it with a great desperation. 

She wasn't going to deny _that_ call. 

*** 

The elven queen, Ellesime knew the instant that the strangers entered the palace. She could sense something strange about the party's leader despite her imprisonment. A strange power surrounded the half-human woman. A strange power, but a familiar power as well. It was the power of divine heritage, and it radiated merciless rage. For a moment Ellesime was taken aback, shocked by the terrible presence this strange woman exuded, and she wondered if perhaps she was not in league with Irenicus. But that was ridiculous, she decided quickly. This woman was not coming to report to Irenicus, not if the look on her face and on the face of her comrades was any indication, she was coming to kill him. 

A feeling of hope washed over Queen Ellesime, and though trapped by Irenicus' magic, forced to watch as the man she once loved drained the Tree of Life of its power, she managed to send an image of herself to the strangers led by the child of a god. 

*** 

Brynn gazed at the branches of the Tree of Life that grew about her without interest for their beauty. The only thing on her mind was Irenicus. Her whole body pulsed with tingling waves of energy, and for the first time in a long time, she could not hear the rage singing at all; its voice was drowned out by the calls of her own soul. 

Before her the air shimmered, and Brynn blinked, thinking that it was just a fault of her vision, but the shimmering formed itself into the shape of an astonishingly beautiful elven woman. 

"Please," the shimmering woman urged her, "you must hurry!" 

"Who are you?" Brynn asked, surprised. 

The elven woman replied, "I am Ellesime." 

"Oh my," Aerie breathed behind Brynn. 

"Please, you must hurry!" the Queen repeated. "As we speak Irenicus is draining the Tree of Life, drawing its power to himself in hopes of completing the task he failed years ago!" 

"Your majesty, I know," Brynn said, conscious that she was being a little rude, but too preoccupied to really care. "Tell me where Irenicus is and he'll be a corpse before you can blink." 

"You do not understand!" Ellesime exclaimed. "While he is connected to the Tree he is invulnerable, you must sever his connections to the Tree or you will never defeat him!" 

"How do we do that?" Brynn asked. 

Ellesime breathed a sigh of relief. "Irenicus has set three parasites on the tree to draw the power to him, if the parasites are destroyed, the connection will be broken and Irenicus will be vulnerable, and I will be freed." 

"You are imprisoned?" Minsc blurted out. 

"Of course I am!" Ellesime returned, by the tone of her voice a little irritated. "Do you think I would hide while Irenicus destroyed my city and killed the Tree of Life?" 

"No..." Minsc said simply. "I thought you were see-through." 

Haer'Dalis muttered under his breath, "The brainless ranger rides again." 

"Pardon Minsc," Brynn said hastily. "Can you tell me where these parasites are located?" 

Ellesime shook her head. "No, I can _feel_ them, but I cannot say where they are located." 

"Wonderful," Brynn said quietly to herself, "With the run of luck I've been having I'll run into Irenicus before I find the first parasite." Then louder, "Thank you, Your Majesty, we will not fail you." 

Ellesime nodded and the image vanished. 

The Blades got to work. 

*** 

At first he didn't notice the decrease in the amount of power he was drawing from the Tree of Life, but then the second link to the Tree was severed, and then the third. What could have gotten through the defenses around the palace? That barrier he had placed had been impenetrable. Then he saw them, striding down one of the thick branches like the god damned do-gooders they were. 

"You? You_ again?_" Irenicus growled. 

Brynn Trueblade smiled coldly. "That's right." 

*** 

Brynn held her katanas out before her, both blades pointed directly at Irenicus' chest. "That's right," she said with an icy smile, "Me _again_. And this time there's nowhere for you to flee." 

"Flee?" Irenicus scoffed. "I never _fled_ from you, Bhaalspawn, and today will not be your day of glory, it will be _mine!_" 

"Give up, Joneleth," pleaded the elven queen from the edge of the nest created by the meeting of the branches. "You surely must know that you have been defeated. Please, for the love we once shared, end this now." She looked near tears, and her voice was not so much sweet and smooth as raspy and full of grief. 

"For the love we shared?" Irenicus demanded of her coldly. "The love that I cannot feel because _you_ took that part of me? I remember our _love_, but I cannot _feel_ it anymore. It is gone, lost, and that is your fault and the fault of the shortsighted fools you led." 

"It did not have to be this way," Ellesime reminded him gently. "You were given a chance. If you had only repented..." 

"For what reason?" Irenicus shouted, angry now and seemingly oblivious to Brynn and the Blades of Honor. "You fool! Why should _I_ have repented? Why should I have felt guilt when you took away my capacity to feel anything but hate and bitterness? This time nothing, _nothing_, will stand in the way of my ascension to godhood!" 

Brynn shook her head and sighed loudly, catching Irenicus' attention. "I'm sure if I haven't mentioned this to you before, _someone_ must have," she said, "but nevertheless I feel that I ought to take this moment before I grind you into oblivion to state the obvious to you one more time in hopes that it will finally sink in: You are crazy. Crazier than a gnomish rocket and far more likely to fail." 

That was one of the clearest thoughts she had managed for sometime. By the grace of the gods, the rage was still being drowned out by the sweet humming call of her soul. All that was in her mind was _her_, and she could trust her own thoughts and motives again. It was a nice, clean feeling. Though the emptiness was still there, and an untouchable, hard knot of grief with it, she could ignore those things and concentrate, strategize, and fight so that no matter what Irenicus threw at her she would come out on top. 

Irenicus, of course, had other ideas. "We shall see," was his reply to Brynn. The magical shields that had caused the Blades so much trouble the _last_ time they had run into Irenicus came up around the wicked mage again. Then they had not known what fighting Irenicus would be like. Then Brynn had been to addled by the loss of her soul to fight at her peak. 

This time things were different. 

As Irenicus' magic shields came up Brynn didn't even bother charging. He would have learned from the last time that her katanas had no enchantments, and would have adjusted his defenses accordingly. Instead she signaled Nalia, who raised her bow, fitted an arrow, and fired. She wasn't aiming for Irenicus precisely, just the bubbled edges of his magical shields. Nalia's aim was true, and as the arrow struck, fingers of magical energy surged forth from the point of impact, shattering Irenicus' precious protections. 

_Then_ Brynn charged, Mazzy and Minsc close at her heels. 

Irenicus was luck and managed to slide out of the way of Brynn's first attack, but her second opened a gash in his shoulder. Minsc was a hairsbreadth from splitting Irenicus from crown to groin with a powerful overhead blow when the mage's magic shields hummed to life again. With his lips twisted into a snarl of rage Irenicus began to chant a spell. At the same time Nalia fired off another arrow of dispelling, and missed. 

"Damn it!" she cursed, fumbling to fit another arrow to fire again before Irenicus had a chance to finish his spell. 

Brynn, Minsc and Mazzy made a quick retreat, and waited for Irenicus' shields to drop again. Meanwhile Anomen, Aerie, Jaheira, Haer'Dalis and Imoen cast their own spells of protection. A series of near simultaneous flashes of light and magical energy enveloped the five of them and the rest of the party. 

Then Irenicus finished his spell, and the next thing Brynn knew a rain of fire and burning rock was pummeling the area. She ran toward Irenicus, for he was beyond the edge of the rain of rock and fire. A falling rock struck her in the shoulder and sent her sprawling across the huge branch of the Tree of Life. Angry, she struggled back to her feet only to be forced to her knees again by another wave of rock. So she crawled, slowly but steadily toward her foe, and as soon as she was clear of the fall, she stood up again, straightening herself despite the pain in her shoulder. 

Brynn spat out a mouthful of blood and growled. "Nice try," she said. 

Irenicus merely laughed. 

Out of the corner of her eye Brynn saw the rest of the Blades either getting free of the swarm of rocks, or already free, except for Haer'Dalis, who lay unmoving on the branch, either unconscious or dead. No, he was not dead, Brynn could barely make out the movement of his chest as he drew in halting breaths. Minsc, battered and bruised like the rest, ducked back into the deadly hail and pulled the bard out, but not before being struck again in the chest by a burning ball of rock. 

Satisfied that her friends would live, Brynn narrowed her eyes and concentrated on Irenicus. She could feel her soul, calling to her even louder now than before, and she let the pain she felt slip past her. All the world except her and Irenicus fell away as if it were only an illusion, and power hummed throughout her and along the lengths of her katanas until she and they both glowed. 

It was time to finish this. 

*** 

Aching, and feeling dried out like an old mummy, for some reason she could not explain save that somehow Irenicus must have cast more than one spell a moment ago, Nalia lifted her bow again and fitted a fourth arrow of dispelling, drew back the bow string, and fired. The arrow streaked outward, gliding unhindered through the shower of rock created when Irenicus had cast the spell _meteor swarm_, and struck true shattering Irenicus' defenses a second time. She watched almost uncomprehendingly as, at the moment the magical shields protecting Irenicus fell away, Brynn leaped forward at seemingly impossible speed, and drove her blades deep into Irenicus' chest. A moment later the rain of meteors ceased. 

*** 

Brynn felt her blades slide easily into Irenicus' flesh, felt the crunch of bone and the tearing of organs and muscle and heard the sound it made, like the ripping of damp paper. Then she opened her eyes, not realizing until then that they had even been closed and saw Irenicus' pale face flecked with his own spittle and blood, and drawn into an expression of pure disbelief. 

"This... can... not be..." the cruel mage wheezed, his words gurgling out with a gout of blood. 

Brynn twisted her two katanas within his body, and blood poured out of the two gaping wounds in his chest. "Well, guess what you evil son of a bitch, it is." She tore her blades free, ripping a gash from near his sternum out each side of his chest, nearly cutting him in half, and at last Irenicus fell. 

Inhaling slowly Brynn let the immensity of her final victory wash over her, but her time for contemplation and elation ended abruptly. She felt something within her tear free, and felt the call of her soul growing ever farther away. Her vision swam, turned red and black, and the last thing she knew was the feeling of her body striking the ground. 

*** 

To Be Continued 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

A/N 

I know this chapter seems to have gone a little quickly, but if I detailed every defeated critter it would have been about twenty pages. So far as I can see the monsters within the elven city serve merely as devices to stall the player, so they really don't matter much. As for the killing of the parasites, the same applies. The battle with Irenicus was shorter than the first more or less because, from my perspective at least, it was much easier. He sort of went out with a whimper instead of a roar when I defeated him for the second time -I didn't even have to reload. Up next, hell, six tests of conscience, willpower, and determination, and Irenicus' final _final_ defeat. 


	22. Sulfur and Darkness

*** 

Chapter 22: 

Sulfur and Darkness 

*** 

When she opened her eyes all Brynn could see was smoke hanging like mist in the darkness around her and illumined by a faint, but steady, red light, as if from a hundred dirty lanterns. The air was hot too, and each breath left a rancid taste on Brynn's tongue. It was awful, not because of the smoke, or the darkness, or the heat or the foul air, but because she had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. 

Slowly she levered herself up off the ground on her elbows and sat up. Her shoulder ached where she had been struck by Irenicus' rock storm, and her chest felt oddly heavy, making it hard for her to breathe. Her lungs just wouldn't fill all the way up. Determined, she drew in a deep, ragged breath and began to cough, sending wracking pains through her torso. She brought her hand to her mouth and it came away splashed with blood. That was a bad sign; it meant internal bleeding. Her trouble breathing probably came from a punctured lung, pierced by a broken rib maybe, or else from her whole chest filling up with her own blood. It could even have been both. 

Had Irenicus' attacks hit her that hard? 

She lowered herself back down again and coughed up another mouthful of blood. Lying around wouldn't get her anywhere, nor would contemplating the past, but she just didn't feel capable of getting up. 

_What a way to die,_ she thought, _but at least I got Irenicus._

It was an awfully comforting thought. At least Irenicus was dead too, with him gone she could die in peace. Good riddance to a miserable existence, welcome final peace and tranquillity. In death at least that terrible emptiness where her soul _ought_ to have been would be gone. Without her soul, she too would be gone, there would only be nothingness for the rest of eternity, an unconscious, dreamless nothingness. 

She welcomed it, but as she waited to embrace her death something inside her fought it. Some part of her shouted furiously for her to stand up. Some part of her told her that the battle wasn't over, and that she could not give up now. She wanted that part of herself to shut up and let her have some peace for once. Then she heard the quiet, desperate call of her soul, not far away, but somehow unreachable, and she realized that the battle really _wasn't_ over. Somehow, somewhere Irenicus still existed, not alive but neither dead or confined to hell as he ought to have been. 

Her whole body protested as she sat up again, and then staggered upright, hunching over like some deformed beast because of the fiery pain that ripped through her chest and shoulders. Stumbling, she moved toward the call of her soul, but her foot caught on something and she fell hard on the ground. Her vision whited out, and she felt sure that if she had had the breath she would have been screaming in pain. If her ribs had not already been broken and shattered they were now. 

Whatever she had tripped over stirred, groaned and sat up. 

"Brynn?" a voice croaked, brittle and cracking from dryness and smoke. 

Still, she could recognize the speaker as Jaheira. "Unngh," she murmured in response, unable to form words. 

"By Silvanus Jaheira exclaimed. Funny, for the inflections in the druidic warrior's voice Brynn could have sworn she was shouting, but she seemed quieter than before. "Where are...? Oh, Silvanus! This... this must be Hell!" 

_Oh_, Brynn thought sluggishly, _that's where we are_. 

"Brynn, you must get up," Jaheira urged her. "You need to get up!" 

Brynn felt Jaheira tugging on her sleeve and tried to comply with her friend's commands, but she could not. She tried to follow the pleas of her soul, but her muscles just wouldn't function. "Hurts..." she mumbled. 

Jaheira let go of her sleeve, and Brynn felt cool hands on her shoulders as Jaheira rolled her onto her back. "By the Grove! What happened to you?" Jaheira asked, sounding shocked to Brynn's half-deafened ears. "No, never mind, do not answer that. Lay still." 

Brynn complied, but she really could have done nothing else. She heard Jaheira mumbling a familiar incantation, and soon felt a warm surge of energy run through her. Bones knit back together within her chest, and tissue mended and became whole again. Or mostly whole at least. Her mind regained a little of the clarity it had lost. Again she head Jaheira saying something, and she turned her head to respond, only to realize that Jaheira was casting another spell of healing. Another wave of energy ran through her, and more pain disappeared, and then more words, and more healing magic. 

At last Jaheira let Brynn stand. "Thank you," Brynn said. Her ribs still twinged, and her shoulders must have been black and blue all over, but she was functional at least. She looked around, peering through the hazy air. "Where are the others?" she asked, her voice conveying her concern. 

Jaheira looked around as well. "I do not know," she answered. 

Brynn bit her lip. Maybe the rest of the Blades were safe and sound in the branches of the Tree of Life, but maybe they had been dragged down into this nook of Hell along with her, like Jaheira had. In any case, she had to look for them. If she did not find them anywhere nearby then she could safely assume that they were still on the Prime Material Plane, and out of danger. 

"Well," Brynn said, "we're not getting anywhere standing around here." Her soul called to her again, and she found herself walking toward it, Jaheira following close behind. She had taken no more than a few paces when through the haze she spotted a huge door. Five staring eyes, all as big as a giant's head, surrounded the door, two on each side and one at the top of the arched stone frame. Her soul was on the other side of that door, and therefore so was Irenicus. But she could see no way of opening the door. 

Frustrated, Brynn followed the wall into which the door was set, moving to the left along it and trailing one hand across the rough stone. The wall split, and within the dark crevice a stairway descended. 

"Are you going to go down?" Jaheira asked stopping alongside Brynn and peering into the blackness. 

Brynn nodded. "I am, but... I don't know why I am. It feels right for some reason." 

"Trust your instincts, they have always served us well." 

"Right," Brynn said, a little uncertain. She continued down the stairs, Jaheira at her side now instead of behind her, and together they walked into a low-ceilinged cavern. The walls were of gray, slimy stone and exuded a palpable heat. Brynn heard the clanking of metal and the sound of a large humanoid coming toward her and Jaheira. Then from the perpetual mists emerged a familiar, hateful visage. 

"I see you have come to join your brother at last," Sarevok said, his low rumbling voice sending a chill up Brynn's spine. "See what you have done to me?" He waved one gauntlet covered hand in a gesture of disgust at what he had become. 

"You did it to yourself," Brynn answered almost automatically. "And I'm not here to 'join' you. If I had known you were here I would have gone the other way." Sarevok. Of all the people Brynn had fought he was perhaps one of the most terrifying, just as awful as Irenicus, and perhaps even more so because he represented what Brynn could have become. What she could still become yet. 

"To where?" Sarevok asked, sounding a little amused. "You are in Hell, my _dear_ sister. This is where all of Bhaal's children end up when they die." 

"I'm not dead, you pathetic spirit!" Brynn snapped. "I'm just... lost. I don't belong here!" 

Sarevok frowned, pulling his thick black brows together in a way that made his dark eyes almost disappear into their sockets. "You still deny yourself?" he demanded. "You cannot deny the rage within you. You hate me, but I am a part of you." 

"No!" Brynn shouted. "You are _not_ a part of me. You are nothing like me. Only a chance of fate gave me the same blood that once flowed in your foul veins." 

"You are pathetic," Sarevok said in disgust. "Pathetic, just like your foster father Gorion. What a pleasure it was to break that one." 

"Shut up!" Brynn growled. She realized that she could hear the rage again, she could hear its terrible song. 

"Yes!" Sarevok crowed exultantly. "Come! Tear me apart if you that is what you wish. Do not deny your blood!" 

It sounded like a wonderful idea. If she killed Sarevok again here in Hell he would be destroyed forever, wouldn't he? And wouldn't that be a good thing? And wouldn't it be easier to kill Sarevok as the Slayer? The song of Brynn's rage grew louder and stronger, and she remembered how it had felt to transform into the Slayer, remembered how powerful she had been. 

And she remembered a solemn promise she had made to herself, never to use that power again. Ever. 

"No," Brynn said. "I won't!" 

"Then you were _never_ worthy of Bhaal's blood!" Sarevok roared. He lifted his huge sword over his head and brought it down hard, aiming for the crown of Brynn's skull, but Brynn sidestepped agilely to avoid the blow. 

Jaheira prepared to attack Sarevok as well, but Brynn shouted, "No! He's mine!" 

"What?" Jaheira demanded, an expression of pure disbelief on her face. 

Brynn grinned a predatory grin. Sarevok had been a mighty foe the first time she had met him, but she had beaten him, and now she was even better a warrior than she had been then. She waited patiently for Sarevok to recover his balance and turn to attack her again, then when he did, she deflected his sword to the left and took two steps to the right. 

"You would think," Brynn said, "that after being killed by me once you would have the sense to use something resembling tactics instead of just slashing madly." 

Sarevok snarled and then turned a mocking grin on her. He moved as if he were going to come at her from the lower left, and then at the last second shifted his grip and came in high. Brynn saw the feint coming and blocked high with her left blade as she came in with the right blade right at Sarevok's unprotected middle. The katana bit into Sarevok's flesh with ease. 

With a surprised expression on his face, Sarevok looked down at the blade in his belly, frowned and stumbled backward. He barely had time to look back up at Brynn again before she struck his head from his body. Sarevok's corpse crumpled, and then dissipated into nothingness. Left behind on the ground was a small, black, tear-shaped gem. Brynn picked it up. Her hands tingled when she touched it. Quickly she put the gem into her belt pouch and wiped her hands off on her breeches, wanting the tingling to go away. 

"What _is_ that?" Jaheira asked, curious. 

"I don't know," Brynn replied. Then an idea came to her. There were five eyes around the door that would lead to her soul, and she was willing to bet that there would be five passages for her to go down, and five more gems like the one she held in her hand if her guess proved correct. "Maybe I have an idea though. Come on, follow me back up to that big door." 

They quickly left the cavern, heading back up the stone stairs to the main room and the door. As Brynn got closer the gem began to shake within her belt pouch, and so she took it out and held it before the door. The gem tore out of her grasp and settled into a tiny niche below one of the eyes. A light briefly illuminated the cavern so brightly that Brynn and Jaheira had to shut their eyes for a moment, and when they were able to open them again the eye under which the gem had settled was closed. Brynn felt a wave of energy flow through her, and she shuddered. 

The thick haze in the air lightened a little, and before the door Minsc suddenly appeared. The tall ranger stumbled, looking severely disoriented. Jaheira put a hand out to help steady him. 

"Ah, Jaheira, little Brynn! Minsc and Boo are glad to see you!" 

"Minsc!" Brynn exclaimed, elated, "Are you all right?" 

"I am just fine," Minsc told her, "but it is too hot in this dark place; Boo is sweating!" He paused. "Where are we? The last thing I remember is seeing you stick your swords into the evil mage and deliver a righteous butt-kicking, then _poof!_ Here I am." 

"I believe we are in Hell," Jaheira said. 

Minsc moaned. "Oh woe! How can this be! The Hells are no place for the defenders of goodness and small animals!" 

"Calm down, Minsc," Brynn soothed. "I think I got dragged down her because Irenicus had my soul. You guys must have been taken with me. Don't worry, I know we can get out of here... somehow." 

Minsc grunted and nodded. He rarely disagreed with 'little Brynn', and he never argued with her predictions. Many people thought, incorrectly, that Minsc's agreeableness was due to his lack of wit, but Brynn knew better. Minsc was loyal, and that was all there was to it. 

Brynn turned her attention away from the Minsc and the door, trying hard to concentrate on what had to be done to escape her terrible surroundings. She noticed that with the haze in the cavern lighter than before she could see to the far stone walls -and to the five stairways set into them. Her guess had been correct after all. 

"Our best bet is to find the gems that will close the rest of these eyes," she said, "and I think we'll find them down those stairs." Jaheira and Minsc both agreed, since the only way in or out of the cavern was the large door and the stairs, and Brynn led them down the stairway farthest to the right. The stairs became a low-ceilinged stone passageway that sloped gently into the darkness beyond. Jaheira summoned up a magical light to illuminate the passage, and the three of them continued on. It was not long afterward that a dark figure loomed to block the way ahead. It shied away when the light hit it, and the terrible hissing it made caused Brynn, Minsc and Jaheira to shy away. 

Folding its terrible black wings the demon said, "Ah, Child of Bhaal, you have come here sseeking the Tearss, yess?" 

"The what?" Brynn asked. 

"The _Tearsss!_" the demon said, as if that clarified anything. "The Tearss of Bhaal! You sseek them, yess?" 

Brynn immediately connected the small tear-shaped gem she had found where Sarevok's spirit had been and the Tears of Bhaal that the demon was talking about. "I suppose I am, if that will get me out of this stinking pit." 

"Ah, ssurely they will, Child of Bhaal," the demon hissed eagerly. "But first you must earn them." 

"How?" Brynn asked. 

"Down thiss passssage a great beasst gaurdss one of the Tearss, Child of Bhaal. A great warrior sssuch asss yoursself can ssurely defeat it, yes?" 

Brynn sighed wearily. "More fighting. Yea," she muttered unenthusiastically. 

The demon regarded her with surprise, its red eyes narrowing in their horny sockets. "Are you afraid, Child of Bhaal? Ssurely you can defeat it, yes?" 

"Of course I can," Brynn said. "I just don't _want_ to fight it. I mean, why _should_ I fight it?" 

"Becausse it iss there," the demon replied in explanation. "Becausse it sstandss in your way." 

"If I killed everything that got in my way there wouldn't be much left," Brynn said flatly. "Is there no way to _reason_ with the creature? Is it bound to guard the Tear to its death? Or can I find some way to _not_ fight it and still get the Tear?" 

"Well, I ssupposse it _might_ be willing to deal with you, Child of Bhaal," the demon admitted reluctantly. "But think of thiss! Think of the fame and glory you will have when you return to the Prime Material Plane with your taless of defeating ssuch a great beasst!" 

"I've killed many a great beast in my time," Brynn told the demon, "and I've more than enough glory as it is. My 'glory' is what brought me to the attention of Irenicus." 

The demon sighed. "I ssee their iss no pride in you, Child of Bhaal. Go, take the Tear, there will be no fighting if you do not wishh it." With that the demon vanished. 

"I do too have pride," Brynn said, a little indignant. "I'm just not an egotist." 

"You do indeed have pride, Brynn," Jaheira agreed as they walked down the passageway. "That was, I believe, a test, as the encounter with Sarevok was a test." 

"A test of what?" Minsc wanted to know. "Boo is curious." 

"A test of character," Jaheira answered. 

"And what was the test when I faced Sarevok again?" Brynn asked. 

"The same," Jaheira told her. "This was a test of your pride, against Sarevok it was a test of your wrath. I saw you, Brynn, I saw the anger in your eyes. I saw you almost let go and become the Slayer again, but you did not, and so I believe you passed that test, as you did this one." 

A light glimmered at the end of the passage and they came into a large cavern. At one end sat a huge green dragon, its scales shimmering in the dim light. 

"The Tear is yours, Child of Bhaal," the dragon said, its voice like thunder and rain. Then, like the demon, the dragon vanished, leaving in its place a gem like the one left behind after Sarevok's defeat. 

Brynn covered her hand with her sleeve and carefully put the gem into her pouch. "To the door!" she said, feeling a little better. She had passed the test, like Jaheira had said, and knowing that gave her courage. 

Back up at the door Brynn took out the Tear and it flew into another of the niches below one of the eyes. There was another flash of light, like the one before, and another ripple of power spread through her. 

And another friend greeted Brynn, Jaheira and Minsc when they opened their eyes. 

"Back in the Planes again I see. And the hard way too," Haer'Dalis said, brushing himself off with the sort of expression that said he didn't care where he was so much as he cared what shape his clothes and equipment were in. "Travel with you is certainly never dull." 

"Well," Brynn said, "with luck it will get even more interesting." 

Haer'Dalis raised one blue-gray eyebrow. "I cannot tell, dearest raven, if that is a threat or a promise." 

Brynn chuckled, glad to get the chance to laugh in this terrible place. The Gods bless Haer'Dalis for always knowing the right thing to say to keep the gloom from choking her, yet still not utterly dissipate it. "Nor can I." She quickly explained the situation to Haer'Dalis, telling him all that she knew, and Jaheira and Minsc piped in with their own information as well. 

Haer'Dalis took everything in stride, as he always did, and with a cheerful smile said, "Well then, let us go and seek our next challenge. Mayhap when we are back on the Prime again I will write a ballad about this adventure. It will be on the lips of bards for centuries to come." 

"You heard the man," Brynn agreed, "let's go make legends." 

This time Brynn chose the passage that was second from the left, and another long, dark stairway led the group into a room lit by the red glow of molten rock. The heat was terrible. It made Brynn's face and the rest of her exposed skin burn, and she pitied the others who wore metal armor. For them it had to be worse. 

Again a demon blocked their way. "Ho there, Child of Bhaal," it called out, its voice oddly pleasant. 

"Ho there, demon," Brynn replied. "Get out of my way before I forcefully _put_ you out of my way." 

The demon laughed. "No need, Child of Bhaal, I ask but a moment of your time. Beyond me there is a djinni." The demon produced a longsword from within the folds of its leathery wings and held it out to Brynn. "Take this sword and go to meet the djinni, he will guide you from there." 

A little hesitantly, Brynn took the sword. "Thank you," she said. 

"No, Child of Bhaal," said the demon with a toothy grin, "thank _you_." 

"Watch your step, my raven, when a demon thanks you there is trouble ahead," Haer'Dalis warned. 

"I do not like this, Brynn," Jaheira said. "Keep in mind that this is most likely another test." 

"I know, Jaheira," Brynn assured her. She peered across the room, seeing a stone path through the pool of lava to a plat form on the opposite side where the djinni the demon had spoken of waited for her. "You guys wait here, okay, this is my test." She smiled a little when she saw Minsc begin to protest. "I don't want to be accused of cheating." 

She turned away from her three friends and moved cautiously across the pathway to the djinni's platform, holding the longsword in her right hand. It was awkward to hold the sword, it was lighter than the katanas she was used to, and the hilt was oddly shaped to her hand. Still, she noted, it was a well made weapon, and by the soft blue-black glow it emitted it was definitely magical. Probably it was quite valuable as well, and more likely than not a powerful piece of weaponry. Maybe she would get to keep it. 

"Greetings," Brynn said, as soon as she got within earshot of the djinni. "A demon told me to come talk to you. What can you tell me about this sword, and how can I acquire one of the Tears of Bhaal with it?" She held out the longsword. 

"Oh great and noble Child of Bhaal!" the djinni said happily, "at last someone has come to free me!" 

"Um... yeah, I suppose I could do that too," Brynn agreed with a little shrug. "But, just how do I get the Tear of Bhaal. I need it badly." 

"Use the sword, oh charitable one," the djinni replied. 

"How?" Brynn asked. "How do I use the sword to free you?" 

The djinni's expression turned grim. "I... I cannot tell you what to do, gracious one, only that to free me and receive the Tear of Bhaal you must use the sword." 

Brynn frowned. This was a test, but what was it a test of? Intellect? Was this a riddle that had to be solved? Maybe she should have at least brought Haer'Dalis or Jaheira along with her. What would happen if she made the wrong choice? No! She couldn't think about that. She had to concentrate on what she had to do. Somehow she had to use the sword to free the djinni. 

"What is the nature of the sword?" Brynn asked. "Are you allowed to tell me?" 

"Certainly, shining one," the djinni replied. "In your hand you hold the Blackrazor, a sword of powerful magic. It protects the wielder from fear, and invokes fear in others. It races from one's hand into the enemy's body almost on its own. It is very strong, great one." 

Brynn nodded. "A very powerful weapon indeed." She thought about it for a while. "Suppose I gave you the sword? Could you free yourself then?" 

"It might." 

"Is that what I should do?" 

"I am forbidden from answering that question, glorious one." 

Brynn concentrated for a while longer. "Suppose..." she began hesitantly, "suppose I were to... slay you with this sword, that would give you the release you desire?" 

The djinni hesitated. "Yes... yes, I would welcome such release." 

"Is that what I should do then?" Brynn asked. 

"I cannot answer that question," the djinni replied. 

For a moment Brynn looked at the djinni, and then at the sword in her hands. If she killed the djinni she could keep the sword, and such a powerful weapon might come in handy one day. Then again, she had no need for a magical longsword, and try as she might she could not remember if any of her companions could even wield a longsword. And even if they could would they accept it from her knowing the cost? 

No, she decided at last, nor could she stand to look at the sword after shedding an innocent djinni's blood with it. Smiling Brynn held the sword out hilt first to the djinni. "Take it, I don't even use longswords. I prefer my katanas." 

"I thank you most generous lady!" the djinni exclaimed with a grin. "As promised here is your reward." The djinni retrieved the third Tear of Bhaal from the sash about its waist, and Brynn slipped it into her belt pouch. "Thank you again for your most generous gift!" 

"No one should take another's freedom unless it is merited," Brynn told the djinni. "Now go and be free. The Tear is enough reward in my eyes, for it may grant me my own freedom." 

The djinni thanked her one more time, then vanished, and in its place Mazzy appeared, looking thoroughly confused. 

Brynn was beginning to see a pattern. 

"By Avoreen!" Mazzy murmured in astonishment. "Where _are_ we?" 

Brynn grimaced. "Promise you won't fall over in a dead faint?" 

"What? Why?" 

"Never mind," Brynn said. "Just come with me, I've got Minsc, Jaheira, and Haer'Dalis all waiting on the other side of the lava pit, and I think I'll have one more of the others back soon enough. I hope you're all here somewhere." 

Mazzy nodded slowly, and Brynn helped her across the path of stones to the other side of the lava pit. The five Blades had a brief reunion before they hurried back up to the door, again, and on the way Brynn quickly explained what was going on to Mazzy. 

"I figure that last test was one of greed," Brynn said as she pulled the Tear from her belt pouch. The Tear struggled against her grip, but she didn't release it quite yet. "I also figure that if I fail one of these tests I won't get one of the others back." 

Jaheira looked at her with concern. "That could be correct," she said. "It would be wise to keep that in mind when facing the other challenges." 

Brynn gave a quick nod of agreement and let go of the Tear, and it whisked up to its niche and the third eye closed. Again the haze in the room lightened and a ripple of energy coursed through Brynn, and again one of the Blades appeared before the doors. 

Looking shaken, but none the worse for wear, Aerie looked around, her blue eyes wide. "Oh my," she breathed. "What an _awful_ place." 

Another quick explanation followed and as a team of six now, the Blades went down the passage second from the left. Yet _another_ demon crouched at the bottom of the stairs just in front of a fork in the corridor. Its eyes glowed yellow in the darkness. 

"Hello, Child of Bhaal," the demon said in a oddly nervous voice. "You come for the Tear?" 

Brynn rolled her eyes. "Why can't you guys just all be in the same place, it would save me a lot of trouble," she muttered under her breath. Out loud she said, "I do." 

"Ah, wonderful," the demon hissed. "Be forewarned, Child of Bhaal, down this passage behind me lie terrible creatures. Terrible creatures, Child of Bhaal, and very, very powerful. They will destroy you if you are not careful." 

"Oh not again!" Brynn grumped. 

"But you may pass unnoticed, Child of Bhaal," the demon continued as if she had not spoken. "I bear a cloak made from the flayed skins of lovely nymphs..." 

"Yeah, no thanks," Brynn interrupted. "First off, I don't think that whatever you've got hidden back there can hurt me and my five buddies here, and second, the mere idea of wearing nymph skin makes me feel ill. Keep your cloak, demon." 

"But the monsters are powerful," the demon insisted. "Are you not afraid?" 

"Listen you pitiful excuse for a quasit," Brynn growled at the demon, "I've had my soul stolen from me, faced down a crypt full of vampires, twice, killed two dragons, fought my way out of a city full of drow and done so many other things that nothing you could throw at me anymore could frighten me. Make me pause yes, but not frighten me. Now buzz off." She pushed past the demon and the Blades followed her. 

The passage opened into a large cavern that appeared to loop around and connect pack up to the second passage. A wooden box on the top of a stone pedestal was the only contents of the cavern. 

"Some terrible monster," Mazzy remarked dryly. 

"I'm shaking in my shoes," Brynn added in the same tone. She went up to the stone coffer and retrieved the Tear of Bhaal from it. "Come on, we've got three friends left and one more passage." 

After stopping at the huge door, fourth Tear, and retrieving Anomen, the Blades headed for the fifth and final stairway. Again they were met at the bottom of the stairs by a demon, who set up the situation for the last trial. 

"Beyond me are three doors, Child of Bhaal, and behind them are your last two companions and the fifth Tear of Bhaal. If you go through the door on my right you may pass unmolested and obtain the Tear, but your friends will die, if you go through either of the other two doors... well let me say that you will pay a price to obtain the Tear, but your friends will be safe. Choose wisely. 

Brynn didn't even hesitate as she headed for the door to the demon's left. She wouldn't sacrifice either Nalia or Imoen, no matter what. As she passed through the door she felt a strange energy zap through her, leaving her feeling a little weaker than before. She assumed that was the price she had to pay, but she didn't much care. At the other side of the new room Imoen and Nalia stood frozen, as if held in place by magic, but as soon as Brynn crossed toward the stone pedestal in the center where the Tear lay, the two women were released from whatever had held them. 

The demon appeared before Brynn and said, "Congratulations, Child of Bhaal, you have done well. Take the final Tear and meet your foe. This last battle will decide who is the ultimate victor." 

And suddenly, Nalia and Imoen vanished. 

"Hey!" Brynn shouted, "what have you done with them?" 

"They have merely been returned to their proper place," the demon replied. "By passing these tests you freed their souls from confinement within this Hell. I suspect they are awakening even now somewhere on the Prime and wondering where you are." 

"But I need..." Brynn began to protest. 

"You need them to fight Irenicus?" the demon finished for her. "I think not, Child of Bhaal. This will be your battle alone. Go now, take the Tear to the door and face Irenicus for the last time." Then the demon too vanished. 

Brynn stood in the room for a moment, looking at the gem in her hand and feeling the strange power of it raise the hairs on the back of her neck. She clenched her fist around the Tear and looked up, then strode straight backed up the stairs to the door. 

She released the gem and the last eye closed. The whole cavern shook as if from an earthquake, and the massive doors flew open. A powerful wind threatened to throw Brynn backward, but she stood her ground, and soon the wind died. From the darkness beyond came Irenicus, his wounds healed and looking coolly confidant. 

No words passed between them as they both prepared for their last battle. 

*** 

To Be Continued 

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A/N 

I tired to get Sarevok's dialogue as close to the orignial as I could, but it's been a while so it may not be perfect. Anyway, I think it came out quite well. I made the tests more thinking and less fighting because that's more or less what I think of them as. First there is the test of will and character, then the last battle with Irenicus is the test of power. 


	23. Finale

Finale 

*** 

In the city on Sundanessellar on the Prime Material Plane the Blades of Honor awoke. They blinked in the intensely bright light streaming through the high vaulted windows above them. An army of elves clad in the garb of healers and herbalist hovered over them, but parted and stood aside as an elven woman dressed in long, flowing robes of gold, wearing a golden crown, approached. 

"I am pleased to see you awake. I did not believe it at first when the priests said you were showing signs of life once more. I thought you doomed." She looked over her shoulder to something none of the Blades could quite see. "I fear the Lady Trueblade may not be so fortunate." 

And then, beyond the elven Queen's cloak, the Blades saw the figure of their leader lying still upon a stone bier, her face as white as new fallen snow, and her eyes closed. Her chest did not rise or fall beneath her neatly folded hands, nor did she show any other sign of life. For all intents and purposes, Brynn Trueblade was dead. 

Imoen let out a cry of grief and tried to go to her sister's side, but she was still weak and the healers held her back. "Brynn..." she choked. 

The others reacted differently, but their fear and grief were no less real. There was no way that Brynn was dead, truly and forever dead. She had to be alive yet, or else wouldn't she have turned to dust as Sarevok had when he had died? 

"How long have we been here?" Jaheira asked, her throat tight and her eyes fixed on the unmoving form of her charge. 

"Several hours," the Queen replied gently. "You began to revive an hour ago, but Lady Trueblade has not stirred since you were all brought here." 

"We will wait for her," Anomen said harshly. Several sets of elven eyes turned to him with disbelief at his tone. "Brynn... Brynn will recover just as we have. I am sure of it. I stake my life on it." 

"Yes," Minsc said, echoing the young knight's sentiment, "Little Brynn just had to finish slaying the wizard." 

Optimism ran high throughout their ranks, buoyed by the inability to believe their commander and friend lost forever. 

*** 

"So we meet again for the last time in Hell," Irenicus said coolly as he and Brynn circled one another. "I must admit you have given me more trouble than I would have expected, but nevertheless, I will be the victor here." 

"Just like you were the victor in Sundanessellar?" Brynn countered. She kept the points of her katanas poised at the level of Irenicus' chest, and kept her eyes locked on his. "Just like you would have been the victor at Spellhold had you not fled?" 

Irenicus didn't answer. 

"You will fall here, Irenicus, and the world won't be troubled by your ugly face anymore," Brynn continued with a snarl. "_You will pay for everything you have done to me!_" She shouted. As quick as lightening the muscles in her legs flexed and then released, and she sprang forward. 

In the same instant Irenicus did the nigh-unthinkable and transformed. He became the Slayer, his hands claw-like, his face hideously distorted, and his whole body deformed. He met Brynn's blades with his bare forearms and thrust them aside. Not even a scratch marred his pebbly, reddish-brown hide. 

"We shall see," Irenicus growled, his voice distorted as well. It sounded as if he was speaking with all the voices of all the demons of the Nine Hells, and it sent a shiver of fear up Brynn's spine. 

Brynn leapt back and set herself in a defensive stance, her blades whirring around in front of her so quickly that they seemed to be a wall of steel. "I suppose we shall," she replied grimly. She stilled her blades and Irenicus charged at her, slashing with all ten of his razor sharp claws. Brynn ducked beneath his attacks and came up behind him, but Irenicus whirled about and attacked again, forcing Brynn to duck out of his way to the side. 

"Keep it up, Brynn Trueblade," Irenicus said, his voice a snarl. "Let us see how long you can avoid me!" 

"Let's see how long _you_ can avoid _me_!" Brynn replied. As Irenicus came toward her she crouched down low and then sprang upward, tucked her knees to her chest and somersaulted through the air to land directly behind Irenicus. Mentally she gave thanks to Master Touga that part of her training when she was young had been in the art of gymnastics and acrobatics, and also gave thanks that she had not let those skills lapse in the years since her training with her Kensai master had ended. Again Irenicus turned to face her, but Brynn was one step ahead of him, and her twin blades caught Irenicus across the torsos opening two gashes, one across his ribs, and the other across his abdomen. Irenicus snarled and hissed, showing dagger-like teeth, and retaliated, gouging five paralleled rows in Brynn's upper chest and left shoulder. 

It would have been so easy to give into her rage then and become a monster like Irenicus had, but Brynn was adamant. She had said never again and she had meant it with every ounce of her being. So the bloody duel continued, and for each blow that Brynn struck, Irenicus struck one of his own. Frustrated with herself and the fact that the battle was not progressing very well, Brynn broke off and out a few yards of space between herself and Irenicus, hoping that with a little more planning she could break the cycle of hit and be hit that had thus far dominated the fight. 

Irenicus laughed that demonic, terrible laugh his new form had graced him with, and quickly moved to close the gap. Brynn dodged backward, widening the space between them again, her eyes on Irenicus the whole time, watching his every move, observing the slightest shifts in stance and balance as he moved forward. She remembered how the Slayer body did not feel awkward to her, even though it was so drastically different from her natural form, which meant that Irenicus probably did not suffer from being ungainly in his new body either. He was matching her blow for blow, a sure sign that he was indeed master of his body. 

Brynn paused. Or maybe not. Irenicus was a mage, more used to weaving spells than blades, and certainly not used to attacking hand-to-hand. Maybe somewhere in his past he had learned to use a sword without cutting his own arm off, but that didn't make him a capable warrior. On the other hand Brynn had practically grown up with her katanas in her hands. She knew intimately the rhythms of a battle and could move with them like the a dancer moves to music. 

And then there was the fact that they were evenly matched. If Irenicus was really as comfortable in his new body as Brynn had been the one time she had transformed he would have beaten her already. Brynn had no doubts that she had not gotten so much better with her twin blades in the short time since she had last fought Irenicus, and even then they had been pretty well even, and Brynn had eight other people on her side! With the boost of power Irenicus had gotten from becoming the Slayer Brynn had no doubt that if he were perfectly attuned to his beastly form she would be mincemeat. 

Of course Brynn had not taken into account those weird rippling waves of energy that had come over her as she placed each Tear of Bhaal. She did not know what they meant, did not know that they had endowed her with supernatural qualities of defense and offense. 

Again claw and blade came together, and razor's edge to razor's edge, became locked. Irenicus brought up his other talon-tipped hand and Brynn met that as well. Each combatant worked hard to keep the other from over powering them and ending the stalemate until it was most advantageous. Brynn braced herself against the stone floor of the cavern, and heard the scratching sounds made by Irenicus' clawed feet as they dug into the stone, gouging deep furrows in it. Their two gazes met, blue-gray and flecked with gold to unholy incarnadine. Brynn gazed into those terrible eyes and felt power rising within her, fueled by determination to defeat this monster that had caused her so much misery. 

She roared, and her _ki_ gathered within her and around her, cloaking her in a aura of blue-white light, and limning her blades. Her muscles bulged briefly with the influx of power and with one mighty push she sheared through the claws that blocked her blades, and the sharp steel of her katanas bit into Irenicus' deformed, mottled flesh. The intersection where her two blades crossed formed a V shape, and the vertex sliced into the front of Ireniucs' throat. The katanas went deep, and a eyeblink's time later Brynn swept her blades outward, extending her arms to her sides. 

Irenicus' head was cut from his body, and it flew several feet before it fell to the ground with a wet _thud_. The body of the mage shifted back to its natural form, and erupted with blue-white flame. Above it a sphere of energy began to form, and Brynn watched, her arms still out at her sides, and a ray of energy lanced out from it, and struck her in the chest. Waves of power buffeted her and filled her, and it seemed as if she would burst. Then the flood calmed, and Brynn felt full; felt complete. 

She let out a ragged breath, and noticed how quiet her mind was. The voice of her rage was gone, silenced by the return of her soul. She dropped her arms to her sides and closed her eyes. Something tugged at her, and then she felt herself being transported away from the foul darkness of the cavern. 

*** 

The light blinded her at first, and the smell of clean, fresh air filled her nose and mouth, smelling like the forest and the heady scent of orchids and lilacs. Wincing in the brightness, Brynn opened her eyes, and saw the familiar faces of her friends and companions as they hovered over her. She saw the elven queen, Ellesime as well, her eyes calm and her expression welcoming. 

"I am glad to see you have awakened," Ellesime said cordially. "When your companions awoke and you did not we feared the worst." 

Brynn sat up and took a deep breath of the cool sweet air. She gave Ellesime a lopsided smile. With her soul back all the emotion, all the pain, she had not felt after having it stripped from her in Spellhold came back, and after not feeling for so long it seemed twice as powerful as before. It was all she could do not to curl up and weep. "I think, Your Highness," she said carefully, her voice wavering as she spoke, "that I have already endured the worst this world and the next have to offer. So long as Irenicus is gone forever I can be..." she paused, uncertain of the word she wanted to use. She would not be happy. She did not think she could ever have true happiness without Yoshimo beside her, but she would live. "I think I will be content," she finished. 

Ellesime nodded knowingly. "I believe I understand," she said gently. "I will leave you now so that you may spend time with you friends and rest. Tomorrow there will be a ceremony held in your honor. I wish you well, Brynn Trueblade." 

"And I you, Your Highness," Brynn replied. 

Ellesime glided out of the room, shutting the door behind her quietly. 

There was a moment of utter silence, and then the questions began. 

"Are you all right, my lady?" Anomen asked, looking at her with concern. 

"How do you feel, big sister?" Imoen wanted to know, sitting down on the bench-like bed. 

"I'm fine," Brynn said, "I feel... fine I suppose." 

"I take it you won?" Jaheira inquired blandly. 

Brynn nodded. "Irenicus won't even be bothering the demons of the Nine Hells, I think," she said. "Well, maybe he will be," she amended, "but not for long." 

"So this is the end? Boo is sad to think that the adventure is over," Minsc commented. "Oh, the tales they will tell of you and Minsc and Boo!" 

Brynn smiled at him. "It's not over," she said. 

Haer'Dalis broke into a mischievous grin. "I take it, my raven, that there are adventures you intend to have yet? Evils you intend to smite and all of that?" 

"If you all still want to smite them with me," she replied. 

Not one of the Blades indicated otherwise, roaring there approval of the course Brynn had set. The did not know where they would be going, but go they would, and they would do it together. 

The End 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

A/N 

Yes, this is the end, but only of this story, and there are many tales yet untold. I hope to go back and revise _Rebirth_ so that any lingering questions can be answered (such as what happed post ToB) and after that I have a sequel planned that will, I hope, be very entertaining. On the personal front I've finished my exams, and I graduate in ten days (yea!) after that I will hopefully have more time to write and do fun stuff like that. Sorry for the delay in posting this last chapter, but exams had to come first after all. 

Thanks to all you reviewers! 

Sincerely, 

The Blue Sorceress 


End file.
